


She's Bad News But I'm No Better

by Xenamorph



Series: Bad News Trilogy [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Needs Help, Adrien salt, Ancient Egyptian Literature & Mythology, Bisexual Marinette Dupain-Cheng, But not entirely there's a story around it, Cataclysm | Cat Miraculous Superpower, Chronic Pain, Dragon Miraculous, Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/F, Good Parents Sabine Cheng & Tom Dupain, Lesbian Kagami Tsurugi, Lila Rossi Lies, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Magical Artifacts, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Deserves Better, Minor Class Salt, Miraculous Side Effects, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Overstimulation, POV Third Person, Repression, Salt, mlb confidence man au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:46:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 78,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26271355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenamorph/pseuds/Xenamorph
Summary: When Ladybug is told about a mysterious (and probably magical) artifact that had been found on a recent dig, she wouldn't expect it to be what it is!
Relationships: Aurore Beauréal/Mireille Caquet, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Kagami Tsurugi, Sabine Cheng/Tom Dupain
Series: Bad News Trilogy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922302
Comments: 289
Kudos: 626





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this does have a lot of salt tags, but there's no real bashing/overdramatization of anyone except for Adrien who is going to get some sense knocked into him (not physically). Lila commenter, if you want to comment go ahead it just makes the numbers on my screen go up and make me happy. The Alya salt isn't based in Lila stuff (for the majority part) so don't be expecting her to be Lila's guard dog. 
> 
> I got the idea from miraculous-anna on tumblrs Confidence Man au (the prompt does have some spoilers for where the story is going, so check it out on your own risk)

“Mlle Ladybug!” The voice from below came right after the healing ladybugs had made their way around the city.

Thunderwave had been one of Hawkmoth’s more generally destructive akumas, more physically than emotionally. They didn’t seem to have any personal grudges or vendetta to carry out, which mean that their only goal was leveling the city with their sonic screams and making people think what they wanted. Thankfully, there was no mind control involved, but there was the horrible feeling of having thoughts pushed into your head with no control over it.

But at the end of the day, the headset was broken, and the leveled buildings were restored. Along with all the lives of the people in the buildings and the lives of the people who had been pushed back and slammed back and-

“Mlle Ladybug?” The voice asked again and Ladybug had to blink herself out of memories as she turned to look down at him from her perch on top of a car. “Hello, I am Jalil Kubdel, we’ve met before but it was for a very short time.”

Ladybug drew her brows together in thought, before nodding her head as she remembered. The Pharaoh, the one where Alya was almost sacrificed, where she first found out about the Ladybugs of the past. “Right, I recall.”

A small set of five beeps got Jalil talking again, “My team and I have come into possession of an artifact that might interest you. It’s been depicted in a few cave drawings, as best we can find, but it seems to have a little bit of magical energy as far as we can see.” Another set, four beeps.

“Where is it?” Ladybug asked, “Where you’re keeping the artifact I mean, I’ll recharge and then I can visit without a time limit.” She stood up, unclipping her yoyo from its place on her

Jalil smiled and nodded her head, taking out a small laminated business card and handing it to her. “It’s on the 14th Arrondissement, it looks like a normal house because it used to be until my dig team bought it as a base.”

“Thank you, I’ll be there shortly.” With a polite nod, Ladybug yanked on the yoyo enough for land on the nearby rooftop. A cursory glance around and then she murmured, “Tikki, spot’s off!”

The familiar feeling of the magic unwrapping from her, and Tikki spiraled up in front of her. "Well, that was pretty strange! I don't think there's any sort of relics that should be in Paris, but who knows! Maybe they found a new miraculous!"

"A new miraculous? What about the ones that are in the box!" Marinette gave another (almost paranoid) glance around the area, and moved to sit crosslegged behind the chimney, her back up against it as she adjusted her bag to open it up, taking out two macrons. One for Tikki (to restore her energy because she did have to get right back out there as Ladybug to check it out), and one for her (Superhero'ing was hard work after all).

"Those aren't the only Miraculous that are out there! There's a whole lot more and you just have the Tibetan box, but there are so many other boxes out there. But we should check it out first, because the Miraculous aren't the only magical objects in the world, and we don't want to risk some sort of powerful magic falling into the wrong hands again!" Tikki beamed up at her, the macaron cupped her in tiny little paws.

"You're right, Tikki, Miraculous or not, it's still best to see, just in case it is!" Marinette grinned as she watched Tikki consume the entire cookie with one bite (not usually something that would be a feat, but Tikki's head was just barely larger than it).

“Well, I guess there’s no time like the present to see what sort of stuff we have waiting for us!" Tikki smiled and clapped her little paws, "Say the magic words, Marinette!"

"Tikki, Spots on!" A light laugh as she felt the magic spiral up around her like wrapping an old blanket around her shoulders. Relaxing and calming, something that felt so very right wrapping around her, and she barely blinked before letting her yo-yo fly and wrap around a spire. Tugging on it and letting herself fly through the air and towards the dig team's base, not all that far but it was enough for her to have to use it.

In seconds (oh how easy it was to traverse Paris like this, if only everything else was this easy), Marinette found herself in front of the base. Jalil Kubdel was right, it really did look like a normal house, if she hadn't been warned she wouldn't think the simple two story was anything that could house magic. Ladybug moved up the short flight of steps to knock on the door, "Uh, Mr. Kubdel? I'm here!"

"Ah! Ladybug, I'm so glad that you're here!" The person who opened the door definitely wasn't Jalil, she only came up to Ladybug's eyes (which was saying something considering she was only five feet tall herself). The woman had a shaved head, the bare bits of hair growing out were dyed white, "Jalil told us that you had agreed to come, but honestly he says a lot of stuff." She laughed like she had just told a very funny joke (that Ladybug really didn't get, but her parents didn't raise her to be rude so she laughed anyway).

"I heard that you had some interesting relic that you thought might be related to magic?" Ladybug wasn't usually as upfront with all of this, but time was ticking and she still had so much to do! She had her homework, and that suit jacket for Jagged which still needed the embroidery on the back (which was going to absolutely kill her fingers), not to mention helping out in the bakery and the cupcakes that she was going to be expected to bring in for Lila (and oh she hated the fact that even though she was apparently 'Bullying' the girl she was still expected to give her and the class things for free).

"Ah, right, he's probably talking about the necklace that we unearthed back in Egypt," the woman grinned, stepping aside and opening the door wider, "Please, come inside. I'm Kira and I'm Jalil's dig partner. Technically I'm the sponsor of the digs, but I don't really like calling myself that," Kira rambled slightly as she ushered Ladybug inside, shutting the door behind her and leading her up a flight of stairs, "We keep most of the stuff that we're allowed to take back upstairs, makes it easier to protect you know?"

"Of course, that's a very good idea," Ladybug felt out of her depth, she was barely a freshman in lycée and yet these university educated adults were expecting her to be on the level. Of course, that was a good thing, because it meant that her identity was rather thickly shrouded in mystery to the point where her age was unknown. Didn't mean that it ever stopped throwing her through a loop. "So, tell me more about this necklace,"

"Well, it's definitely some sort of magic. Not sure how you become...you, but none of us have transformed into superheroes, but a few of us have said that we can hear a little voice in our head when we're working near it. And not like- concious type voice like this is a voice that's directly talking to us," Kira gestured widely, almost to the point that it was distracting, "But none of us like hearing a voice in our head, so normally we just keep it in it's box."

"Huh," Ladybug worried her bottom lip between her bottom teeth, frowning slightly as she thought on that. A necklace that talks to you isn't something that she's read about in the grimoire, but then again neither were any other miraculous boxes and according to Tikki they were out there too. "Alright, I can't say I've heard of that but I might know someone who does, do you think I could take the necklace home."

Now it was Kira's turn to worry her bottom lip, but she gave a slight shrug, "I mean, definitely we wouldn't normally let non-officials take stuff with them, but this really isn't a normal situation huh? Anyway, Miss Ladybug, I don't think I even want this necklace in this place. It's creeping my team out, leaving the thing open makes us hear the voices but leaving it closed makes us all feel weird." She rubbed her bare arms, giving a little laugh.

Ladybug gave a tight smile, a little more concerned than she was before, and moved into the room housing the necklace. It was beautiful, honestly it was a piece of art. The string was made with several rectangular pieces of blue rock all laying across the string until it came to the actual pendent itself. It seemed to be carved from just one piece of amber, all delicate in the shape of two scales. "You said you found this in Egypt, right?"

"Ah! Yes, you see that's the thing-" Kira's eyes seemed to glow, all excited as she briefly flapped her hands as she moved to open up the case protecting it- "We've sort of started to excavate another temple there, something deep and buried, that was only uncovered this summer. You see, if we consult the actual primary texts that we've been compiling for decades, we can assume that this was a temple dedicated to Ma'at, the Egyptian goddess of truth and order!" Kira grinned as she twisted the key and popped open the case. "The amber pendent might be some sort of symbol for the scales of weighing the dead, or maybe priestess wear!"

"And, you're sure that I can take this to my home?" Ladybug felt her stomach roll over at the thought of taking something so historically important home.

"Yes, honestly please take it home. We've taken thousands of pictures and all it's doing here is creeping all of us our and making us hear voices. It's a group decision, in case you're worried about someone getting akumatized over it, we're all fine with it. We discussed it before you got here, and we all think it's for the best," Kira gave a crooked grin as she gestured for Ladybug to reach out and take the necklace.

"I'll come back with it the second I figure out what's going on it," Ladybug gave a tight little grin as she took the necklace with the amount of care she felt it was afforded. After all it was ancient, and that much was clear from how it felt in her hands (even through the suit). "I might come back sooner too, so we could work on it together. I'd just feel guilty about taking it away from you when you brought it back from Egypt..."

"Don't think twice about it, Mlle! You're really doing us a favor here, like I've been saying no one's enjoyed having the voice speak to them and knowing that the relic's safe with you is enough. But, hey, if you wanna come and pour over dusty old notes, you're more than welcome to join us," Kira clapped her on the shoulder, "Well, not to kick you out, but we do got some work to do, so thanks a lot for stopping over!"

Ladybug nodded, opening up her yo-yo and placing the necklace inside, "Of course, thank you for alerting me to something like this. I really appreciate it," There was a last exchange of nods before Ladybug took the cue and left. Zipping across the skyline with a slight smile on her lips as she made her way back to her home, landing on her balcony and smoothly (for once in the entire month that she had started doing it) sliding through her balcony and onto her bed. The transformation fizzled off as Tikki zipped out of her earrings.

Marinette opened her mouth to ask about the necklace, but Tikki beat her to it as she opened her mouth and drew it out, "Oh my! This is definitely something seriously magical, it's...familiar too!" Tikki ran her small paws over the amber stone, a little frown on her face as she stared down at it. Like she was staring at an unfinished puzzle that had all the pieces laid out in front of her but she didn't have the box to go off of.

"Bad familiar?" Marinette reached up, tugging slightly on her pigtails as she started to move off of her bed. She had to keep moving after all, if she let herself pause for a second that was a second of time lost that she could be putting towards something more productive. She chewed on her lower lip as she stared at the to do list, the homework should probably be finished first. That required the most focus and the embroidery could be something to relax to (the cupcakes she was pushing out of her mind, she decided on just bringing some of the spares from the daily batch). She pulled out her backpack, grunting slightly as she started to lay everything out.

At the sound of the backpack hitting the table, Tikki bounced out of her thoughts, "Oh! Good familiar I think, or at the very least neutral. I just- I can't place it! But there's nothing inherently malicious about it, nothing that could really pose any sort of threat. There's some of me in it!" The necklace jangled slightly as she buzzed down to offer it up to her holder, "It'll be safe with you!"

Marinette paused her writing, forehead wrinkling as she frowned down at the pendent, "Are you sure it's safe?" She flicked her pencil back and forth, drumming it on her paper as she stared at the almost translucent amber. "I mean, I know you said it has some of you...in it?"

"My magic, I meant, I think there's some of Plagg in here too! That's safer than really any sort of other combination, Plagg and I tend to really balance each other out," Tikki smiled as she moved to loop it around Marinette's neck, "Besides, not only are you the new guardian, you're also my holder. And I won't have any fragment of my power hurt you," Her tiny paw reached out to pat Marinette on the nose.

Going briefly cross eyed, Marinette chuckled and shook her head, reaching up and touching the warm amber, "Well, I don't know! I mean, it's magic and magic doesn't really like being controlled! And even good magic can be used for bad I mean just look at Hawkmoth! The butterfly miraculous is supposed to be used for making champions and heroes out of those that can't be heroes! But no, he has to ruin feeling emotions for all of Paris and turns babies into skyscrapers!" Marinette barely noticed that she had stood up to start pacing, "Not to mention the sheer amount of ways that this could all go wrong! What if Plagg's power is corrupting it, what if it corrupts with! What if I get akumatized and the power in the necklace makes everything worse and I end up ruining the world!"

"Marinette!" Tikki yelled, finally breaking her out of her spiral (and it seemed like this wasn't the first time that she had yelled it during Mari's rant), "That's not going to happen, I won't let it! It doesn't matter what the power in the necklace does, because I'll be there to stop it from getting bad! If I can purify akumas, then I can stop my own power from hurting you! It's going to be okay, Marinette, you don't have to worry about it."

"Okay..okay, but I'm not wearing it as a necklace. Kira said that the workers there were hearing voices, and I'd really like to not have that happen to me in the middle of school. So I'll just keep it in my purse with you, okay?" Marinette unhooked the necklace and set it to the side.

"Okay, that works too!" Tikki smiled and zipped to nuzzle into Marinette's cheek in her own little version of a kiss. "Now, why don't you get working on that homework!"

Marinette huffed, rolling her eyes as she slumped into her desk chair, "Ugh, don't remind me!"


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of that night went simply, no voices. Just Marinette grumbling to herself as she started to work on the massive amount of homework she was assigned. It went quickly (if extremely boringly) and soon enough she was working on the delicate embroidery on the back of Jagged Stone's jacket. It was a scene of the Eiffel Tower at night, the moon in full view as well as a few buildings surrounding it. Penny had even given her the site and the compensation for silvery thread that would shine underneath the stage lights. It was adventerous, but then again so was Jagged's style.

It was getting late, almost to the point that Marinette would be expected to go to bed, when she remembered about- "The cupcakes!" She shouted, eyes going wide as she lunged out of her chair, stumbling over her feet as she moved to her trapdoor, "I can't believe I almost forgot about the cupcakes for...Lila," Her lips screwed up into a little at the reminder that she was expected to do so much stuff for someone who she was apparently bullying. Nevermind that Marinette had been bullied since ecole primaire by Chloe and she had never even shouted back (not that anyone else did either). Never mind that she was almost painfully cheerful and supportive of everyone else!

No, Marinette was the bully who was never seen bullying Lila and all of her alibis and reasoning behind how it couldn't have been here were just wiped away by a few crocodile tears. She huffed as she gave a particularly rough stir of the batter, almost spilling the flour over the edge. All of her actions while she baked the cupcakes were a little rough, a little aggressive, but that was honestly for the best. Marinette was five foot nothing of pure rage at the best of times and baking was her favorite way to work out all of that rage.

Slamming the oven door shut (and absolutely not jumping at the metal clang that resulted), Marinette leaned against the cleaned table and glared at the glass section. Tikki let out a little muffled laugh at the scowl on her chosen's face, "Marinette, you keep glaring like that and you're going to set those cupcakes on fire!" Her paws moved to pat up against Marinette's cheeks, squishing them slightly.

It was hard to stay scowling when you had a little bobble headed spirit squishing your cheeks together, so Marinette let the scowl fall, "I know, I know it's just- ugh!" She tossed her hands up, almost going to tug at her pigtails before remembering the batter still on her hands, "I thought I knew them," she glanced at the timer before moving to the sink and washing her hands off. "One second I'm the bully, and the next I'm being expected to do things for them! I can't believe I'm saying this but sometimes I wish they'd just pick a side after two years!"

"It is really unfair on you," Tikki sympathized, settling down on Marinette's shoulder and leaning up against her neck, "But at least the requests have gotten a little easier! And it might be because of how no one's really chosen a side!"

Marinette heavily disagreed with that, but she just gave a little hum. Not choosing a side was what Adrien was doing, not defending Marinette but also trying his best to not be caught right next to Lila. It wasn't what everyone else was doing, believing Lila but not outcasting Marinette. They thought that she was a bully, that much was clear from the glares and 'accidental' trips whenever Lila went on another story telling rant. But she was still useful, she could still repair clothes or make dresses or make cupcakes or do everything that she used to do, and yet she wasn't invited to any class picnics.

There was a ding and Marinette realized that she had zoned out with the hot water running and her hands were now bright red and tingly, "Ah-!" She yanked her hands out from under the stream of water and wiped them off. The cupcakes were also done, so that was a relief (if a tad worrying with how zoned out she had become) as she took them out and started to decorate them. A little pettier than she normally would allow herself to be with baked goods, she only did the standard designs with minimal deviation.

Still beautiful, still something that Marinette and her parents would be proud to put out in the front of the store, but it wasn't how she used to do them. There wasn't a specific cupcake for each class member and Marinette didn't care. If they wanted something unique and special for each of them, they should learn critical thinking skills and how to google! Sure Lila's claims weren't that outlandish, not in their class at least, but the amount of disabilities she claimed to have, the amount of political pull she claimed to have as a freshman was...ridiculous! (Utterly ridiculous).

She pushed it into the large cooler, making sure to add a note that this was for her class (so her parents didn't accidentally put them out), and then made her slow way up her trapdoor ladder. The weight of the day was finally hitting her, all exhausting and draining as she noticed the little necklace still sitting on her desk. But she couldn't focus on that right now, because if she thinks any harder about anything else she'll never get sleep.

But she didn't even have a chance to think about anything that happened during the day because the second that her head hit the pillow she was out like a light. Snoozing away to dreamland where her dreams were odd and terrifying (but since she started actually being bullied that was rote for her). Faceless shapes that could've been her friends, or could've been all of Paris, screaming at her and telling her how much she had failed them. How she hadn't given enough of herself away for the betterment of all of them, how selfish she was for putting herself first. The dream ended with each shape taking something from her, ripping it away like they were entitled to it.

There was a loud scream in her ear and as she rocketed up she realized that it was just her alarm clock. School time, she supposed as she forced herself to climb down the ladder and started getting ready. She was just about to leave her room before she briefly remembered to grab the necklace and stuff it into her bag along with Tikki, and then she left her room. There were cupcakes to bring to class after all, and it was just Marinette's luck (or maybe Tikki's influence) that she woke up on time.

"Love you maman, love you papa," Marinette chirped out as she kissed both of her parents on both cheeks, and she very politely ignored the shock on their faces that Marinette woke up on the first alarm (and without her mom needing to come up with a pot and a spoon).

"Well, isn't this a lovely surprise," Sabine smiled at her daughter as she pressed a kiss to the crown of Marinette's hair, "Maybe your luck is finally upturning, dear."

"I sure hope so!" There was a little stress to her smile, but her parents knew why. After the incident with the expulsion and the near-mass akumatization, Marinette came clean about everything. Lila's lies and threat, Adrien's advice, and everything that the school hadn't been doing to protect anyone. It had been a weight off of her shoulders, and if Dupont wasn't so close and convenient, she knew her parents would've tried their hardest to talk her into moving schools. But for now, she was stuck in Dupont, with a teacher that looked the other way at best and chided Marinette for not being a doormat at worst.

It had been a weight off of her shoulders, and she had cried so much that day that she almost passed out right afterwards. But it had been the release she needed, and from that day on she started planning. Carefully jotting down all of Lila's claims and promises so that she could use it in the future, all the times she lied about Marinette and what she had done so that she could either defend herself with proper proof, or could tell her parents about what had been claimed. It could be considered unhealthy, just another way of hanging onto Lila's every word, but Marinette couldn't let herself get caught unawares again. Not after almost getting expelled, not after being framed for theft or bullying or pushing someone down the stairs.

"Sweet roll, if you want to take advantage of waking up early, you better get to school," Tom Dupain tapped his wristwatch as he chuckled, eyes a little tired from all the baking he had done in the early hours.

Marinette yelped slightly, seeing that the time had gotten away from her while she was eating, and she scrambled out of her chair, "Gotta go! Love you maman, love you papa! I'll be back for lunch!" She scrambled down the stairs to the bakery and grabbed the tray of cupcakes, having to take them all out and place them into a container (all while internally cursing her past self for not doing it before she fell asleep), and then she could finally book it across the street to her school.

Somehow, she made it in before the bell (before Bustier even) and she even had time to slap a grin on her face as she settled the tray of cupcakes on the front table, "Happy birthday, Lila!" Her voice was full of cheer that she didn't really feel, "Now, I know that you've had so many allergies, and I really had to go back to my logs of everyone's allergies to make them hypoallergenic. So, that means they're just plain vanilla, gluten free, dairy free, nut free, sugar free, low calorie! I just couldn't bear it if you had a reaction!" Marinette didn't know how much Lila had fabricated about her allergies, but she couldn't take the chance. As much as the girl was set on ruining her life, she didn't want any actual harm coming to her.

Lila's smile was just as tight as Marinette's was fake, but she was all strung up so there was no way out of it, "Thank you so much for these, Marinette, I was so worried that our issues would stop you from being nice in public as well as private." More crocodile tears, but at least someone else was on her side.

"Oh, don't worry, Lila, Marinette's really good with remembering all of our allergies and birthdays! She's been doing it for years!" Rose was one of the ones that was more like Adrien, torn between believing the best of the new girl and trusting her gut memory of Marinette's kindness.

Marinette wondered if that belief would hold up as she took the top off and revealed the pretty (if a bit plain) cupcakes, "There's enough for each of us to have one, as well as Mme. Bustier," She plucked one for herself off of the tray and made her way up to the back. The seats had changed again with the new year, but that was fine. It just meant that Marinette would no longer feel glares on the back of her neck and she could survey the entire room without worrying about looking strange (or getting called out in front of the class).

There was silence, and Marinette didn't really care even as footsteps approached her, "Hey...Marinette?" It was Alya, her no-longer-best friend. It had been sad, but Alya felt too torn in between her and Lila and decided that neither girl was her best friend. The pressure to become Lila's friend had also died down around that time, after Marinette said that even if she didn't believe that Lila was a liar, it still wasn't cool for Alya to try to force them to be friends.

"Yeah, Alys?" The nickname felt weird, too ill-fitting for their current dynamic and made it sound like Marinette was trying to recapture something that was long gone.

"We're just all a little-" Alya paused, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. Whatever she thought that they were would never be found out as Lila called out from the front.

"Disappointed in you," Her voice was sickly sweet, and she had a little overdramatic pout of her lips, "We really all thought that you were above being so petty."

Marinette flexed her hands, feeling the little pops of her joints as she tried to calm herself down, "I wasn't being petty, I didn't know how severe your allergies were. Whether they were touch or eating, or merely being in the air. When I don't know something, and since I've never been given your number and I made these too late to ask, I decided to go with the safest route. Besides, I didn't have the time necessary to make all of the normal accessories, plus I didn't feel like doing that much sugar work that late. It was nothing petty, I was just tired." Her words were formal, just barely not bitten out.

"Oh! Okay, girl, hope you got enough sleep last night," Alya's smile came back, satisfied with the fact that it was just her friend's lack of time management instead whatever sort of pettiness that Lila claimed it was.

Marinette cracked a half smile, still a little too drained from the accusation and her nightmare, "Yeah, just barely, and unlucky me tonight was one of the days that I woke up on time!" That got a few laughs of those that knew her best (or who she thought knew her the best, at the very least they knew her the longest).

Lila opened her mouth, probably to burst into tears and accuse Marinette of purposefully trying to make her look bad, but thankfully Mme. Bustier came in and put a stop to that. The day was boring and repetitive, just a review for the upcoming exam that Marinette was already fully prepared for. They had gotten to the last block of the day, so very close to being home free that Marinette felt like screaming as she heard the tell-tale destruction from an Akuma.

Bustier frowned slightly, lips pursed as she glanced at the clock, "Well, that does sound a little too close. You all know what to do: take your bookbags and go to the nearest akuma shelter which is in..." She trailed off, waiting for them to call out the answer. After looking into teaching methods, Marinette found herself drawing further and further away from her favorite teacher. Not only were her tactics for dealing with bullies absolutely harmful, but she also tended to treat them all like children rather than the lycee students that they were.

"I have to use the bathroom!" She yelled out, barely waiting for permission before booking it out of the room. Skidding her way past the crowds of students to the locker rooms, no one was there even after a minute, and Marinette took the chance to call on her transformation. In a second, she was Ladybug: the savior of Paris, and she had to crawl out one of the high up small windows. Not the most dignified things, but it got her out faster than leaving the school and in no time at all she was zipping across the city to where the destruction was.

Thankfully, Chat Noir was already there and perched on a rooftop, "Well, hello there M'Lady! Such a bright day isn't it?" The pun made no sense until the Akuma attacked again, shooting beams of light out of their palms to turn anyone (and anything) in the beam's path to stone.

"No time for flirting, Chat! How long have you been here?" She adjusted herself on the roof, not wanting to fall off as she lazily swung her yo-yo in preparation for swinging towards danger.

"Not for much longer than you, Ladybug, I've just been scouting out the Akuma as well as I can. A lot of their words aren't loud enough to for us to hear at this point, and I didn't rush in because I wanted to see if you could whip up a plan," He grinned slightly as he unhooked his baton from his belt, "Their power seems to only be coming from their palms, so that means they can attack us both at once, but they can only look in one direction."

"So the plan should be that we stay on opposite sides from each other, any clue where the akuma could be?" Ladybug felt like finally she was having some Ladybug luck that Tikki always talked about. Not only was Chat on time (and not later or not running into battle the second he saw her), but he was also helpful. It made the battles easier when he was helpful, and she really just wanted to get home and polish off that jacket.

"No clue, but I think it could be the blindfold around her eyes, or something on her wrists. Can't be sure until we get closer!" Chat waited for Ladybug to straighten up before propelling himself across the sky with his baton as she did the same with her yo-yo.

The battle was rough, but thankfully they both worked in tandem (lucky lucky) and very few people were turned to stone after they started. The akuma had been on a bracelet (it looked like a panjas bracelet and for a second Ladybug was terrified that she had lost a miraculous again before remembering that the Tiger miraculous was safe in the box) and it took Chat's cataclysm to break it. Soon enough, the healing ladybugs were circling around the city. Restoring everything that had been turned into stone, and leaving Chat already making his way out as Ladybug comforted the victim.

It was one of the battles that hadn't needed a Lucky Charm until it was time to heal the city, and those were Ladybug's favorites. It meant that she could comfort the person and get the bottom of why they had been akumatized. Medusa (even though the akuma form didn't have snake hair, it still used the name) had come out of a twelve year old's anger that her sight was slowly leaving her and soon enough she'd only be able to feel things and see vague lighting changes.

Times like these just made Ladybug wished that Papillion would make another public appearance so she could punch him in the face. Taking advantage of everyone who was feeling even the least bit bad, for justified or unjustified reasons and turning them into destructive villains. Really, he was the lowest of the low and she pitied whoever had to deal with him in his civilian life. She comforted the girl as well as she could before her earrings started beeping, and then she was flying back home.

She landed again, smoothly and perfectly, on her bed as the transformation undid itself, "Tikki..." She started slowly as she moved off of the bed. There was something that was tapping right up against her head and it was frustrating to try to figure out what it was. "How bad of an idea do you think it would be if I started wearing the necklace? I know we still don't know a lot about it, but after everything that's happened, I'm...terrified that Lila is going to take the bag."

"If you're scared about Lila, then I say wear it. It's definitely not something that harmful. It has Plagg and I's..." Tikki's words trailed off, before her eyes went wide and she flew to the bag, "I remember how it happened!"

"Tikki, what? What do you mean how it happened?"

"The necklace! It's one of the first things that Plagg and I created with our love!" Tikki swirled with it in her paws, "I can't remember the meaning behind it, whether the scales were carved in by the Egyptians or if it was natural, but I think keeping it close would be a good idea!"

"So, it'll be safe to wear?" Marinette stared at the necklace as Tikki brought it closer, rubbing her thumb over the carving as she fiddled with the clasp of it.

"One hundred percent, I wouldn't say so if I wasn't sure," Tikki patted her cheek with a little smile, "I wouldn't let anything harm my chosen!" She giggled a little as she moved around to help Marinette put it on.

The amber was warm against her collarbones, and she moved into the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. The necklace was beautiful (and hadn't yet started talking so maybe the archeologists were just going a little too over worked) and accentuated her dark hair and grey eyes. Her fingers brushed over the rectangles, smiling slightly at her reflection, "Wow, I look...great!"

"Of course you do, you're such a pretty girl," Tikki moved to settle on Marinette's shoulder, "And if anyone asks, just say it was a gift from your aunt!"

"Are you telling me that you're my aunt now?" Marinette laughed, before her eyes went wide, "Oh, Tikki what if someone sees me wearing it? What if Alix sees it and she knows what it is because Jalil showed her and what if she tells Jalil who tells her that the only person that could have it was Ladybug and then my entire cover is blown!"

Tikki paused at that, gently patting Marinette's cheek, "You can wear it under your shirt, if you're so scared about it," She leaned up against her with a little smile, "But it seems to be lucky!"

"Yeah, today has been wonderful! I got up early, and I didn't have to fight with Lila over the cupcakes!" Marinette smiled, moving to climb up into her bed, "Maybe that Ladybug luck you always joke about is all stored in this!"

"Oh shush, you didn't get any homework so why don't you go to sleep early. Maybe that way you can wake up early again and not chalk it up to luck," Tikki patted her cheek before flying to the little shelf that had become her small bed. The night passed easily, with both of them asleep no one noticed the necklace glowed under the moonlight.

But that was probably nothing, right?


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette had no nightmares that night, there were no entitled shades all ripping her apart because they felt like they deserved it. No screaming to wake up to, in fact she woke up before her alarm even went off. She smiled at the sight of the time, giving her just enough time to work a little more on the jacket. With no homework to work on, Marinette moved down to her desk chair and pulled the jacket into her lap.

Setting another timer on her phone, Marinette let herself zone out in the embroidery, poking the needle back and forth and somehow not ever jabbing herself in the finger. The jacket was coming along beautifully, most of the outlines of everything done and first thing she was fully doing was the moon. After all, she couldn't allow herself to lose the expensive thread that Penny had special ordered for her. Plus, it was just so satisfying to see the thread glimmer under the light!

The timer rang, meaning that Marinette only had fifteen minutes to eat and get to school. She gasped, jolting out of her seat as she carefully packed the jacket away into it's own puzzle box. After the hat debacle, Marinette had gotten into the routine of putting everything important to her into a puzzle box that only she knew the answer or solution to. The smaller things were complied together with a trap, that way there was a bigger risk and an easier way for her to make sure they're safe. The box clicked shut and Marinette moved around her room to grab everything that she needed for school and packed it away.

She caught a brief glimpse of her reflection in her monitor, the lovely necklace accentuating her outfit. It had been one of her more daring choices, a black blazer with a simple blue shirt underneath, as well as an ankle length skirt with flats. Very far from the daily pink outfit that she had worn throughout her last year of school, but she liked it. Time for a change, after becoming Ladybug and constantly being in life or death situations made her feel so much more mature than that outfit. 

She'd also been talking with Tikki about redesigning her Ladybug suit, growing very annoyed with the simplicity and the fact that she was expected to swing around Paris in just a skin tight body suit. It was slow going, because Ladybug wanted to have just one redesign and trying to make the perfect outfit was extremely stressful. But she stayed true to her roots, searching up ancient Chinese warriors and started sketching out an outfit that would offer more protection.

After all, if Chat got to have defined boots and gloves, why couldn't she? Marinette worked hard and she was so close to really unlocking the best outfit, she was on her fourth redesign yet and this was the closest to what she was imagining. With a spell from the grimoire (after she had collected everything from the recipe) that could give her actual ladybug wings (which would definitely be a bonus to her fighting style.

Marinette checked her watch, grinning as she realized that she was just on time if she left right now. Grabbing a warm crossaint from the bakery, she kissed her mother on the cheek as she made her way to the door, "Good morning maman!"

"Good morning, Mari, you're up early...again!" Sabine smiled at her daughter, giving a little cheer as she started to sort out the front display of desserts.

"I know, must be some lucky week for me," She smiled as she moved out of the bakery, the door bell jangling merrily as she made her way to school. It was early enough that very few people were in the classroom, most of them were all out in the courtyard or still not arrived. Kim was one of the ones in the classroom and his eyes widened seeing Marinette.

"Hey, Alix get a load of this, Marinette's early for once!" His voice was a little mean (he had been meaner since Lila had come to class, but Marinette theorized that it was because he was in love with her), but Marinette remained unbothered as she moved up to the back of the classroom.

"I know right, must be a miracle!" Her voice was shining and bright, nothing that Kim could do could keep her down. Even as she carefully hopped over the leg he had put out to try to trip her, and she hummed to herself, "So, good luck on that swim meet of yours, hopefully Ondine doesn't beat you again!" Sure, that was a little passive aggressive, but if Kim was going to mock her then she wasn't going to be the paragon of perfection.

"Oh, speaking of-" Kim's attitude made a switch, and Marinette could just sense that he was about to ask her for a free favor- "I need a banner for the swim meet, so if you could get on it, that'd be great!" And there it was.

Marinette sat in her seat, a smile frozen on her face as she saw Kim's expectant expression, "But- Kim the swim meet's today. I don't have time to-"

"Oh come on, Dupain-Cheng, you always have time for your friends," He grinned like he hadn't just tried to trip her on her way up, drumming slightly on his lap, "Besides, you make the best banners!"

 _Why should he expect anything from you?_ A voice hissed in Marinette's mind, and she almost jumped right out of her chair. _He trips you daily, he pushes you and accidentally shoves you out of the way, and yet he expects you to drop everything for him?_

Maybe Kira wasn't lying or too stressed out when she talked about the necklace speaking to her and her group. But the voice did have a point, who was Kim to expect her to do everything she could for him when he just bullied her! "Uh...actually no! I don't have time, physically, and even if I did...I don't think I would. I mean," She gestured down at the foot that was still laid out across the steps, "You just tried to trip me, and then immediately asked me to do something for free?"

"Well- I mean I just assumed-" Kim stumbled over his words and Marinette fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, you just assumed I would do things for free. Kim, banners are actually pretty hard to make, and they take a lot of materials. I can't make one today, I'd need like a good week of warning!"

"A week? But the last time you made a banner, it only took you three days!"

"Yeah, because last time, we were actually friends!" Marinette flushed after her outburst, but she couldn't really find a lie in her words.

 _Exactly, he expects you to remain his friend after everything that he's been doing. Isn't that unfair?_ The voice was soft, easy to ignore if she chose to, like there was someone whispering in her ear. It should've been more concerning then it was, probably, but Marinette couldn't find the lie in it's words.

Kim flushed ruddy red at that, opening his mouth to let some retort out before shutting it and turning away from her. A bridge maybe burned, but it also meant that she would no longer be expected to make large projects on short notice. Maybe that was for the best, her commissions were skyrocketing as Jagged recommended her to everyone that he came across and it really made her prices start to rise (first come first serve, as well as having Penny's advice on fair pricing made everything so much more expensive). Her free time was quickly getting shorter and shorter, less time that she could contribute to making things for her friends.

 _Are they really your friends though?_ The voice whispered out, making Marinette jolt and force herself to look down at her paper. _They abandoned you for the next shiniest thing, and yet they still ask things from you. Doesn't sound very friendly to me._

Marinette scowled at her desk, even though it hadn't done anything to her, and shook her head to try to clear it and chase the voice away. The class was still majorly her friends, none of them had really gotten to the point of bullying her like Kim had. And even Kim was a special case, he always had a thing for mean girls, just look at Chloe! Soon enough, he'd stop crushing on Lila and he'd stop bullying her to try to impress her.

 _But would he even apologize? Would he say sorry to you for all the bullying? He never really apologized for Ivan, just silently stopped bullying him._ Marinette was getting a little annoyed with how right the voice could be at points, but she still shook her head.

Drumming her pencil down on the table to try to fill her mind with white noise, Marinette let herself think about something a lot better than exactly how her class would treat her once Lila's ruse was exposed. She started thinking about her costume, and though she couldn't exactly design it in class (it took too much focus and Marinette still needed to keep her grades up), she could make rudimentary sketches about it. About the armor that she could untie if she was in a sticky situation (or if the plates were literally stuck to something else). The piece of lined paper wasn't anything like her more sophisticated sketchbooks, but she couldn't risk Lila getting one of them and claiming that she stole her designs.

The one that she brought was only for copying down designs, to practice lines and certain clothing types. So even if Lila grabbed it, she could have a fool proof excuse as to why she wasn't an art thief. And it really was insulting that she had to plan for that, that she thought so little of her friends that she knew that they'd take Lila's side about Marinette (who has had her ideas stolen before) being an art thief. 

But, c'est la vie, that's just how things went. The drawing was coming along great, definitely one of her best and before she knew it the voice was speaking up again.

 _Take the paper off the table and stand up, now_. The voice seemed urgent and Marinette was following the directions before she could even think about it. Just in time, too, because soon enough a cup of coffee was spilled over her desk by a not-apologetic Lila.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, Marinette, I guess I'm just butterfingers today!" She laughed slightly, but since it was only them in the back, Marinette could see the annoyance in her eyes.

"It's alright, Lila, no harm no foul after all. But, I do have to wonder why you were coming up the stairs! I'm the only one back here after all," Her smile was polite as she tucked her paper back into her backpack. 

"Oh, you know," She waved her hand dismissively, and oh she was lucky that there wasn't anyone really in the classroom or Marinette would definitely push on that. But there was no audience, and doing it privately would just end up with having another threat. 

"Well, okay, it's a good thing I carry around a few napkins!" She grinned, a little tight around the edges but no one was close enough to see. And she did, it had become a habit after the first few 'incidents' of Lila spilling some sort of drink all over her work (and this was the first time that she actually saved the piece). Taking it out of the bag, she started to mop up the still warm coffee (warm enough that it would've hurt when it first splashed all over her) and throw the sopping wet napkins out. "See! No harm done."

"Great," Lila drew out the syllables, and her hands were clasped to the point of being white knuckled as she watched Marinette sit back down in her seat like nothing happened.

Marinette didn't even dignify that with a response, just pulled out a clean sheet of paper and started working on another piece. Another thing that she copied down from a more famous person's site to try to match the sway of the skirt, but it was better than just awkwardly staring at Lila until she left.

 _You see? I'm on your side here, you can't hate me for being right,_ the voice was a little smug in the back of Marinette's head, and she fought to keep her snort internal. It wouldn't look good if Marinette started laughing at nothing, best case scenario they'd worry for her mental health and worst case Lila would turn it into how Marinette was mocking her. 

The class kicked into gear not long after, the rest of the students filing into their seats and Mme. Bustier started the class. The voice in her head was surprisingly helpful, giving her the right answer when she didn't know it and even helping her out with a few of the problems on the worksheets. Not that Marinette didn't know the material, but it was really helpful having someone in her head that helped out to the point that she was finished before everyone else.

There was another benefit to sitting in the back, Marinette could slip her phone out of her bag and text Kagami. The two had gotten closer and closer after Lila started to drive a wedge between her and the class, and Marinette didn't want to get caught unawares in case things got worse. Social isolation was bad enough, but before befriending Kagami (and a few others in Mendeleiev's class), her only real close friends were in Bustier's class.

No longer, she couldn't exactly trust most people in the class anymore so she reached out and joined new friend groups. Kagami was just her closest friend, who had recently come out of the closet (to Marinette's outstanding support of course), and they had made lunch plans for the day. 

_From: Mari-hime_

Hey!!! Just checking that we're on for lunch today!

And if we can't, it's totally fine!!

_From: Kagami <3!_

We are still on. I would have informed you earlier had I been unable to make it.

I cannot wait to see you, Mari

_From: Mari-hime_

I can't wait to see you too, Kagami!

Oh- jeez Bustier keeps glancing at me gotta go!

Marinette just barely slipped the phone into her pocket (thanks to the voice telling her that she was getting a few glances from the teacher) as she was called on.

"Marinette, since you seem to be so far ahead of your peers, I'm sure you won't mind sharing what you got for number twelve with the class," Bustier sounded almost smug to catch her prized pupil (her golden child, her example) in what she assumed to be lazing around.

 _Isn't it unfair of her to expect you to always be the bigger person, isn't that usually the teacher's job?_ The voice in her head grumbled out, echoing the thoughts that Marinette herself had often had. She had no clue where the woman had gotten her idea of an example student, but whoever gave her it should be charged with some sort of crime.

Marinette just beamed at Bustier, "I would love to, Mme!" And she did so, glancing down at her paper and reading right off of it with a big smile on her face. It was satisfying, being well rested and prepared (maybe she would have to try this going to bed early thing more). She also definitely enjoyed the way that Bustier's grip on her pencil tightened.

"That is...correct! Good job, Marinette," Her voice sounded condescending even when she was praising Marinette, and she was starting to regret not taking the offer to join Kagami in Mme. Mendeleiev's class. Sure the science teacher could be a little harsh, but after she had immedietely clamped down on Lila trying to distract the class she had wormed her way into the honored position of being Marinette's favorite teacher. 

"Thank you, Mme," She smiled, ducking her head back down to make it at least look like she was working. She wasn't, there wasn't anything for her to work on, but Bustier said she wasn't collecting the papers and there was a lot of free space on the back so Marinette started drawing again. This time, she was drawing a series of different miraculous users (but really, they were all Kagami in different outfits).

She had been considering, after the disaster that was Miracle Queen, of swapping around Miraculous. After all, everyone's identity's had been exposed but that didn't mean that they were permanently off the table. In fact, taking them permanently off the table could be what Hawkmoth was depending on. Calculating on the fact that if they saw their replacement they could get akumatized. Marinette chewed on her lower lip, a little frown on her face as she stared at the different options for Kagami.

There was the dragon, of course she would need a redesign but it was still viable if she made it different enough. Kagami was such a great fit for it that it made her so sad that it was possible she could never wield Longg again. Kagami was a force of nature out of the suit, and her having control of forces of nature in the suit fit so well. As well as how cute she looked with the horns and the slight fangs that the transformation gave her!

Then there was the Bee, which would definitely be a downgrade in terms of how much she fit. It was a more experimental style, much different from Chloe's version of Queen Bee. More fuzz along the collar and wrists, as well as a much more armored base. Marinette had drawn some inspiration from old Japanese samurai for the armor, giving her a full helmet with a mask instead of just the domino one that Ryuuko had. Figure drawing and faces weren't Marinette's strongest suit (that would be the outfits themselves), but she thought that she had done her good friend justice. Still, the bee just didn't suit Kagami, it was too passive for the fencer and no matter how pretty Marinette made the outfit, it just didn't feel right.

The next was a pipe dream, something that could never happen and Marinette wasn't even sure that she wanted to happen. It was Kagami as the Cat. Even though Chat Noir was doing a good job (most days), she still couldn't get the image of Kagami with cat ears and a tail out of her head. Besides, the aggressive nature of the cat would suit her, would suit her aggressive nature. And the baton could be easily used as a sabre if it got down to it, or maybe Kagami would be able to unlock another weapon to use. She couldn't put it past her, Kagami was fearless and if she got her mind on something she never hesitated to go after it.

Those were the three real contenders for Kagami (even if the Cat was never going to happen because Chat Noir was doing just fine). Maybe the fox as well, but like the bee it was too passive to truly suit Kagami. That didn't stop Marinette from designing an outfit on the off chance that she needed the fox and Kagami was around. Sure, it probably wasn't going to be the design that Kagami's actual suit ended up being, but it was a fun game all the same. Trying to guess what sort of style that she would go for.

The bell rang, and Marinette realized that she had spent so much time on the doodles (that were more like fully fledged drawings) that she didn't realize how much time had passed! It was time for lunch, which meant it was time for her to meet Kagami in their lunch spot. The spot had become theirs since the first day of classes, a little bench out of the way to the left of the entrance, perfectly under a large oak tree that shaded them. It was beautiful, and Marinette had drawn three versions of a dress based solely on how the light dappled the stone bench.

"Ah, hello, Marinette," Kagami's voice came from right next to her and Marinette yelped as she jumped out of her chair. Her dark brown eyes glimmered with laughter as she reached out and placed a hand on her upper arm, "I hope I didn't interrupt an idea that you were having, I know how you get when you're designing."

"What- no don't worry! I was just zoning out again, it's all okay," Marinette grinned, a little too wide as she stuffed the worksheet (and the detailed drawings of Kagami's face) into her bag. "So, lunch?"

"Yes, and, if it's not too forward, I was hoping that I could bring you to a cafe that's pretty close by? We'll be back in time for classes, of course, but I think you'd really enjoy the food there. I of course took the liberty of checking the menu as well as going through our text logs to make sure that you liked the sort of food they served there," Kagami's cheeks were slightly tinted pink and she glanced to the side, "I also may have already made us a reservation, just to make sure that we got a table if you agreed to it. But like I said, if it's not too forward!"

Marinette's heart felt much too full for this, and she squeezed her hands slightly, opening her arms. Kagami wasn't much for surprise hugs, so Marinette took to giving her warning before giving any real contact, "I would love to go to the cafe with you, Kagami, that's so thoughtful of you!" 

Kagami's shoulders slumped in relaxation and she smiled, stepping close enough to wrap Marinette up in a tight hug. Her hugs, though rare, were always so strong, sweeping Marinette up into her arms without a second thought. Her grin was just a bit mischievous as she held Marinette in a princess carry, "Shall we go now?"

She let out an undignified squawk as she clutched at Kagami's shoulders, "Oh- oh now now- yes now sounds good!" Her voice was a little higher pitched than she wanted it to be as she held her backpack against her chest. Kagami let out a soft laugh that just barely disturbed her hair as she began to carry a heavily blushing Marinette out of the classroom and towards the cafe.

 _Oh I like this one, a little bit of a destruction soul inside of her, but also one of Longg's drakes. What an interesting combination..._ The voice in her head almost purred out as Marinette tried to shift to get more and more comfortable in Kagami's arms (not that hard, it was very easy to get comfortable there). _You truly have a valuable ally in this one, Guardian_. 


	4. Chapter 4

Kagami had carried Marinette all the way out of the school before finally setting her down on the ground, barely even strained from carrying her weight, "I, also hope that that wasn't too forward."

Marinette flailed her hands slightly, shaking her head emphatically, "Not at all! Don't worry, it was fine. Just...next time ask before sweeping me up like that?"

"Of course, I apologize for looking over that," Kagami held out a hand for Marinette to take, and once they were hand in hand she began to tug her in the direction of the cafe. It was a short walk, which meant that they could really have a wonderful lunch. Their break was two hours long, and the walk was barely ten minutes with them chatting and Marinette being unsure where to go. So they had enough time to get an actual meal on the way.

"It's okay! Like I said, just warn me next time you want to sweep me up into your arms," Speaking of arms, Marinette couldn't stop staring at Kagami's muscles. Fencing and whatever else Kagami did to work out (if Marinette remembered right, she did Kendo with her mother as well) were doing wonders to the point that even with the blazer that she wore, the definition was clear. Marinette felt her cheeks burn as Kagami gave her hand a slight squeeze.

"But of course, Mari-hime, now, let's get to our table." Another soft squeeze as Kagami pulled Marinette to a small table right in the corner and up against a window. Giving them a lovely view of the street and the area as Kagami pulled out Marinette's chair for her and sat across from her. "So, considering you were alone in that classroom, I'm guessing that you weren't caught by Bustier?" She arched an eyebrow at her, grinning slightly.

"No, thank god, I had my phone underneath the desk," Marinette smile as she scooted her chair in, "How was Mendeleiev's? I know she can be rough."

"Oh, actually I find her a wonderful teacher, easily my favorite. There wasn't any real interruptions in class, but considering the...people in your class, I'm assuming that isn't the same for you," Kagami's nose wrinkled at the mention of Lila. Ever since Oni-Chan, she had a strong anger towards the Italian, and it had only grown larger and burned hotter when Marinette told her about Lila's lies and threat.

That had been a horrible day, Lila had cornered her in the bathroom again to brag about how easy it was to convince her friends that Marinette was some horrible bully. But Kagami, like a knight in shining armor, came into the bathroom not long after Lila left and found Marinette sitting on the ground sobbing. She had taken Marinette into her arms and wiped away her tears and asked her what was really going on. Marinette couldn't resist telling her everything, all the lies and the threats and the expulsion that had happened a year prior. 

"Oh..yeah, she actually tried spilling hot coffee over me before class started," Marinette laughed, even though it wasn't funny at all. "I just barely jumped out of the way of it, and I saved my drawing as well."

Kagami's hand twitched on the tabletop, and Marinette knew that she was stopping herself from grabbing her sabre and charging back to the school. "You were drawing? If it's not too secret, could I take a look?" 

Marinette's mind went completely blank, and she tried to think up some excuse of why she was drawing Ladybug in different outfits. Or for that matter, if she didn't want to explain that, why she was drawing Kagami as a superhero.

 _Show her the art you made of her, tell her that you were thinking about how heroic she is daily and how she should be Ladybug's first choice for a new hero. You don't have to tell her that you know she was Ryuuko, you can just tell her that you think she'd have a different outfit no matter how Japanese Ryuuko's design is._ The voice in her head whispered, and Marinette found herself drawing out the page with Kagami's hero-sonas.

"Well, I had extra time in class- that's why it's on the back of a worksheep- I mean worksheet! But uh-" Marinette chewed on her bottom lip as she flipped it over and showed off the four designs of Kagami, "I've been looking into the heroes, you know the ones that Ladybug has to replace? And, well I was also thinking about how heroic and strong you are normally and- it's just surprising to me that Ladybug hasn't made you a hero yet." 

Kagami's eyes scanned over the sheet, on all of the details that were purely her combined with Marinette's art style, and her cheeks flamed red. "This is...these are all amazing done. I can't believe you weren't even looking at me to do these from memory. And I'd love to hear your thought process for all of them."

Marinette brightened up, leaning over the table and gesturing at the first design with a pencil, "Well you see-"

"Oh, sorry, Mademoiselles, I have your menus," Their server was only a few years older than them, with dyed hair and several piercings in her ears, and she handed them two laminated menus.

Thanking her, Marinette unfolded the menu, "After we make up our minds, I'll tell you exactly what the design process was for you...r designs! Yes, for the designs."

Kagami smiled, slightly restrained, but still warmly, "That sounds great. Since I've already looked at the menu, I know exactly what I'm going to be getting. I'm getting the beef bourguignon, if that influences your decision. The place seems to serve large plates, so if you want we can both get a dish and share them." 

It was efficent, just like the girl herself, and Marinette smiled across the table at her, "That sounds great! It'll also make splitting the bill a lot easier if we just do that."

"Oh, no, I mean, I'm the one who invited you out here. You were completely unaware, I can cover the bill," Kagami reached over to gently pat Marinette's hands, "After all, it would be rude of me to not."

Marinette glanced from her face to the menu, "I don't know, Kagami, this stuff seems pretty expensive."

"All the more reason for me to cover the bill, I don't want you restraining yourself on account of the price. Everything here is fantastic, I wouldn't want you to feel boxed in."

She pouted, shoulders slumping slightly as she noticed they had soupe à l’oignon and it was slightly expensive, "I'm paying you back for this, you know that right?"

Kagami opened her mouth to argue, but Marinette fixed her with a patented Dupain-Cheng glare. Cultivated over years of growing up with both parents, it was truly a force of nature in its own right. Kagami shut her mouth with a slight huff, but just nodded her head, "I suppose you are, but that does not mean that I will accept your money."

Marinette laughed a little, shoulders bouncing and the necklace moving with the movement, "Oh, good luck trying to get me to stop from paying you back. I will sneak it into your pocket, Tsurugi, just watch me."

"I do hope that your plan is similarly difficult for me to work around, I look forward to it," Kagami's eyes had the same gleam that they took on when she was about to fence. Which was something that Marinette was very familiar with, after her crush on Adrien shriveled up and died along with their friendship (at least, on her end, Adrien seemed convinced that everything was fine), she never bothered to stop going to the fencing meets. After all, without Adrien there to intrude on her focus, she developed a genuine love for the sport.

Of course, it wasn't something that she was all that interested in. Too rigid and calculated with no allowances for spur of the moment plans, but she could respect the skill that Kagami showed on the piste. She had started going for Adrien, stayed for the fighting and then found a real connection with Kagami over it. While it wasn't her favorite, it would still be a good idea to get used to more than one fighting style, so Kagami tutored her in their combined free time. Marinette had no clue how she got her mother to agree to it, but it was probably some complicated argument that Kagami reasoned her way into.

Kagami was really good at reasoning her way into anything, but Marinette had her own stubborn streak that usually (more like sometimes) put a stop to it. Always one to take charge and that was why Marinette couldn't truly see her as a Bee or a Fox, she needed something to take charge (or maybe there was another second row miraculous that would fit her). Soon enough, the server came to collect their menus and orders and they were left alone for the time being.

"So, the designs?" Kagami leaned over, shifting the piece of paper so that it was between them. Her eyes caught on the dragon one, and Marinette moved to point at the cat.

"I know that we already have a cat hero, and he's really good at his job but! Well, I just couldn't get a hypothetical design out of my mind for you with his miraculous-" She froze slightly, wondering if it was public knowledge yet about the miraculous or if Marinette just outed herself as a user- "The baton could easily be used as a fencing saber, even without the point to it, and the cataclysm could be a really useful power if used aggressively. I mean, look at what Chat Noir can do when he's putting his mind to it!"

"Yes...only if he would put his mind to it more often instead of waiting for Ladybug to solve the problem," Kagami let out a slight huff and Marinette was torn in two directions. On one hand, she had a point. It was usually up to her (as Ladybug anyway) to make the plan and tell him everything. On the other hand, she should defend her partner...right?

She had been silent too long to defend him, change tactics. "Yeah and I just figured that you'd look really cute with kitty ears and a tail," Marinette laughed a little, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as she coughed to clear her throat, "I know that usually superheros choose their own names, but-" She gestured at the kanji she was drawn underneath the drawing- "I also wanted to practice my Japanese kanji, so I came up with names!"

"Kuro kishi?" Kagami tilted her head, eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Wouldn't Kuro Neko make more sense, it being a black cat?"

"Yeah I thought about that, but I figured that you- hypothetically of course- wouldn't want to just translate Chat Noir's name into your own language. Plus considering the more armored design, I figured that you going by Black Knight would be fitting!"

She glanced up to look Marinette in the eyes, brown eyes warm and light, "You're a very good designer, and if the chance ever came for me to become the weilder of the black cat, I'd probably take the name for myself."

High praise, and Marinette felt her cheeks burn (but whether that was from the praise or from Kagami's stare, she wasn't sure), "That...means a lot to me, but let's talk about something a little more realistic- you being the dragon!" She noticed Kagami's eyes go wide and she quickly started backpedaling. "I'm just saying- we already have a permanent cat holder and I heard that Ladybug's replacing all of the temporary holders because their identities were revealed so you have a much higher chance of becoming the dragon holder instead of the cat, haha!" The laugh was high and bright and fake, and she knew Kagami knew that.

"Yes...I see. Why did you change the name, doesn't Ryuuko already mean dragon in Japanese?"

"Well, of course it does! But I- I just figured that you're so much more than just a dragon, y'know?" Marinette gently went over the lines of the samurai armor, "And- please tell me if I made a mistake with the kanji, but I decided to go with Force of Nature, Shizen no chikara, because you're...a lot like a force of nature when there's something in your way."

Now it was Kagami's turn to flush bright red, and she averted her eyes, "That's rather apt, and you're doing great with your kanji. The lines are very clean, you must have been practicing."

Marinette would rather throw herself into the Seine than admit that she had been specifically practicing these words as potential names (as well as a few more embarrassing kanji combinations of...certain names) just for Kagami, "Oh, you know, I just have a really good memory!" A little laugh as she tugged on her hair, "But yeah, force of nature with a lot more Japanese style. Kuro Kishi took more from fencing uniforms and something that would be easier to move around in, but since the dragon lets the user transform into elements, there's no strong need for that. So I focused on defensive."

"Well, if I was chosen to be the dragon replacement, I'd keep these designs in mind," Kagami's smile was a little softer than Marinette expected as the other reached over to pat her hand, "You know a lot about the powers of the miraculous....is it because of Alya or?"

"Alya!" Marinette squeaked out, blinking probably too fast, "I help- I used to help her with the Ladyblog, and there were a lot of little segments on each of the temporary holders. It was actually really interesting, during the short time that I was helping her. It's sort of fascinating just what the Miraculous can do, huh?"

 _Right, that Ladyblog_ , Marinette almost fell out of her seat as the necklace spoke again, _You helped her so much, you did so much editing and even got her a few interviews with Ladybug herself. Even if you weren't the spotted hero, you did so much for her. But the second someone comes in claiming to be Ladybug's best friend, she throws you away for the next scoop._

Marinette bounced her foot on the ground, trying to chase the voice away. Sure, it may have a small point, but she couldn't exactly blame Alya for being excited. If Marinette wasn't Ladybug herself, she probably would've been convinced herself. She couldn't blame Alya.

_Couldn't blame her, or don't want to?_

She didn't have a response to that, but she didn't need to have one. Kagami cleared her throat slightly and tapped at the Bee one, "So, I'm guessing you figure that I'd make a better wielder than Chloe?" There was a little tease in her voice and Marinette couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"It's really not that hard to be better, I mean she did try to crash a train," Marinette's hands shook slightly as she remembered being on that train. How everything literally went off the rails and she had to leave her parents to go save her parents and how she still had nightmares from the incident.

Kagami noticed the shake of her hands (Kagami noticed a lot of things, Kagami was so perceptive and so very different from Adrien) and reached out to cover them, "I promise you, Mari-hime, if I am ever graced with the bee miraculous, I will never put you in danger like that." And she sounded so sure of herself, so confident in her ability, that Marinette had no other option but to believe her. "So, tell me more about it."

"Well, uh- you see," Marinette stumbled over her words, unable to look Kagami in the eye as she focused on the design, "I wanted something more regal, since Chloe already set the precedence for Queen Bee themes. Not that I think you'd copy her at all! It's just, the Bee seems pretty passive, only jumping into action once things have started to go to plan and I wanted you to have an outfit that suits that! So I made it more like the royal clothes of Heian dynasty, but of course a little less flowing." Marinette tapped at several ribbons, "Hypothetically, these places would be able to tie up the long sleeves. That way if there was a sort of fire akuma, you could tie up the loose ends so they wouldn't catch fire or bring you down in case there was a water themed one."

"Wow," Kagami hummed out, tracing circles in the water dripping from her glass, "You really think of everything, don't you Marinette? A plan for every occasion." 

Kagami seemed a lot more willing to praise today, Marinette wasn't sure why but she really enjoyed it. "Well, when there's Hawkmoth out and about, you sort of have to plan for everything!" And when you're fighting Hawkmoth on a daily basis, you have to be ready to plan on the fly. Marinette designed the outfits for people she'd have the most ease fighting alongside. It was just a coincidence that Kagami was blanketing her thoughts. "And I decided to name you as the Bee holder Hachi which is sort of obvious-"

"-Actually, something that you've done is this kanji?" Kagami pointed it out, "This is actually the kanji for wasp, not bee. Even though they're the same word, they have different kanji making them up." Kagami tilted her head slightly, examining the outfit and the detail to all of the accents, "I suppose Wasp fits better though, with the naming scheme you seem to have given me."

"I'm really glad you like it! I was worried that the translator had messed up, but I'm really glad that it worked out for the best," Marinette laughed slightly, drumming her pencil back and forth, "The last one is the least finished, I couldn't come up with a really good scheme for you." And really, Kagami in the fox only had a head shot of her with a fox themed Kabuki mask and a name underneath it. 

"Inari, very interesting," It didn't seem to be a bad interesting, just something that needed thought. Still, the lack of emotion displayed made Marinette a little nervous.

_Don't be, Kagami loves what you've done with the others. She wouldn't be disappointed in a half finished one because it just meant you thought about her enough to draw it. She's a protector, Guardian, she's not going to abandon you like the rest of them._

Marinette took a steadying breath, trying to disregard the last part of the assurance. She wasn't thinking about her classmates (ex-friends sounded too mean and friends wasn't quite fitting anymore), she was at lunch with Kagami and none of that drama would or could touch her right now. "I've been doing some research into Shinto beliefs since you mentioned them, and I figured it was good enough. I also didn't know the kanji for the name so I just wrote it out."

"I don't think I'd call myself Inari if I was given the amulet, but I definitely like Kabuki mask," Kagami smiled, and seemed like she had more to say.

But like most good things in Marinette's life, it was interrupted. Not on purpose, and she felt that was a little unfair to their server who was just doing their job and giving them the food they ordered, but it still got Kagami clamming up. Marinette smiled at them, and hurried as best as she could to put the drawing in her bag so that they could set the hot plates down, "Have a lovely meal, ladies."

"Thank you, y-" Marinette had to bite her lip to stop herself from saying 'you too' which definitely would've made her want to curl into a ball for the rest of the meal. She instead settled for a tight smile as she turned to her onion soup, just how she liked it: absolutely covered in cheese.

Kagami seemed satisfied with her beef dish, "Like I mentioned, I checked the reviews for the restaurant as well as I checked the menu. They seem to be a Shinto restaurant, and when I made our reservation I did alert them to this. So this dish is all faux beef, and the reviews say that it's rather good."

"Oh wow! That looks just like the one my Nonna made the last time she was over," Marinette's shoulders lost tension she barely thought she had, "So, a Shinto restaurant, huh?" Her eyes darted over the room, not noticing anything specifically Japanese in the design.

"Well, the owners are Shinto, and they decided to choose a cherry blossom theme for the restaurant," Kagami smiled slightly as she began to cut up her dish, "Apparently during April, they serve Sakura mochi, which I've always wanted to try."

 _Ask her out, ask her if she wants to come back in April to have them together_. The voice whispered, sounded a little excited and proud.

"Do you want to come here- then I mean?" Marinette asked, finding it a lot easier to be bold when there was someone always in her corner. Her fingers moved up to toy with the little pendent underneath her shirt, "Like in April, when the desserts are here?"

Kagami paused, but brightened up considerably, "That sounds wonderful, Marinette, I'd love to go with you."

Marinette smiled, and toyed with the spoon in her soup as she dropped the pendent. Maybe it really was lucky, maybe it really was a fortunate thing that she took it home. The meal was nice, if a little silent, but they had enough time to enjoy the meal. They had enough time to relax and not think about all of the expectations that lay for her in Bustier's classroom. But the lunch break couldn't last forever, and before she knew it Kagami was accepting her card back from the server.

"Well, shall we go?" She smiled as she moved to stand up from the table, graceful as ever as she scooted her chair back in.

"Oh, wow time really does fly, huh?" Marinette laughed slightly, slinging her backpack over her shoulder as she stood up and moved out of the cafe with Kagami.

"You know, I didn't know how to bring this up earlier when I saw it, but where did you get that necklace? It's rather beautiful," Kagami gestured at the edges of the blue stone that were peaking out from Marinette's collar.

"Oh, it's just a gift from my Great-Aunt," Marinette drew it out properly, showing the carved amber to Kagami, "Apparently she got it from Egypt during one of her trips!"

"Well, it suits you very well, Mari, why are you hiding it?" Kagami asked, before pausing and grimacing, "Never mind, I know why." The why in the question was talking so loudly that they could hear her from across the road.

"Oh, yes, Alya I've been hired as Jagged Stone's personal stylist but because of my arthritis in my hands I had to turn him down!" Lila's voice carried surprisingly well, and Marinette noticed that Kagami was about to charge forward and she reached down to squeeze her hand.

"Her lies will catch up to her eventually," The words, repeated from Adrien's constant reminders, tasted like ash in her mouth as she squeezed Kagami's hand again.

 _Why not speed them up? You're Jagged Stone's stylist, you're the one making his jacket and you've always been his personal stylist. Why not request him to publicly promote you, brag about how you've been working for him for years and you're the only one who gets him?_ The voice was hummed out, bright and powerful and cunning in a way that Marinette was unprepared for. But points were made, and that would be a way that no one could blame her. Not even Adrien (hopefully).

"I know they'll catch on eventually, but for now it's just exhausting," Kagami rolled her eyes, and patted Marinette on the shoulder, "I have to get to class, Mme Mendeleiev is a good teacher, but she's harsh on people being late. I'll text you after school, okay?"

"Okay!" Marinette's reply was a little loud, but she just opened her bag and handed Kagami the paper, "Take it, I mean they're all you I think you should have it."

Kagami's cheeks reddened again, and a small smile quirked her lips up, "I will treasure this, Mari-hime, thank you," With a joking little bow, Kagami turned on her boot heel and moved into the school. Leaving Marinette alone for the moment, still a little too content from the wonderful lunch.

"Hey, Marinette!" Well, the peace lasted for long enough she supposed. The voice was too annoyed to be anything good, and as she turned around she noticed someone from Lila's entourage waving her over.

Barely stifling a long suffering sigh, Marinette zipped up her bag and moved towards the group. Let's see what they were mad at for her this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to have more than just the lunch not a date, but these two really ran away with the chapter! I figured to let them, after all what's a good romance without a bit of proof that they like each other huh?
> 
> I'd love to hear everyone's guesses for what Miraculous Kagami is going to end up with (because she will get one).
> 
> Also, who could've called Marinette's name!


	5. Chapter 5

"Marinette," Adrien started once she was closer to the group. He sounded much too disappointed in her and she wondered how she never noticed that feature to him. Maybe how he talked down to her when she was happy that her bully was leaving should've clued her in. "Kim just got done telling me that you refused to make him a banner for the class." There wasn't a question in his voice, yet he said it like Marinette had an obvious response.

"Yeah, I did tell him that. And I'm standing by it. I don't have the materials, I don't have the time, and Kim hasn't exactly been my friend for a while now." Marinette pursed her lips as she stared (not glared, she was still in too good of a mood for that), "Did he tell you that right before he asked me, he attempted to trip me on my way up the stairs?"

"Well, no but that doesn't really matter in this situation, Mari," The use of the nickname was starting to chafe on her, especially when compared to how Kagami said it. "You should make time to make the banner."

"Yeah! And besides, I wouldn't have tried to trip you if you would just stop bullying Lila!" Kim shouted from the crowd, arms crossed over his broad chest. Marinette wished that she had asked Kagami to stay just a few more minutes so she wouldn't have been alone for this.

"Oh, so I'm such a bully, but that won't stop you from asking for free favors, huh?" Marinette's voice was slowly getting colder and colder, thinking about what the voice had said. Even when Kim found out about Lila's lies, there was no chance that he would apologize in any sincere way. He'd just expect everything to go back to the way it was and he wouldn't think twice about.

_Exactly, why should you feel bad about putting yourself first? Years of them walking over you have made them all entitled to your time, your supplies, and your money. You have homework like the rest of them, you have your commissions, and you're Ladybug. Even if they don't know about that last point, they should respect that you want to have free time._ The voice was constant, sounding just a little annoyed and Marinette visualized it as a little annoyed dragon on her shoulder. 

The image made her crack a smile, which made Adrien frown, "Mari, can I talk to you? In private?" Which just sounded like another way for him to pressure her into staying silent and apologizing. But still, it was better than having Kim glare at her and Lila look like she was working up to another burst of tears. 

"Fine," Marinette's voice was clipped and calm as she turned on her heel and moved to the stone bench where she and Kagami normally had lunch. Sitting down on the bench, she arranged her skirt around her as she waited for Adrien to catch up to her, "So, what do you want to talk about that our classmates can't overhear."

"Well, it's about Lila. I mean, I know Kim can get a little mean, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't make him that banner! I mean, it's for his swim meet, don't you think he needs a little encouragement?" Adrien's voice was pleading, giving his best attempt at accidental puppy dog eyes but all Marinette could think of was Bustier. Bustier when she told her to stop riling up Chloe, when she said that the defiled gift was from both of them instead of something that Marinette had worked so hard for, when she chastised her for not being a good enough example.

_Everyone expects you to be perfect, don't they? Adrien expects you to be the everyday doormat, Bustier expects you to be the perfect example, Paris expects you to be the perfect hero. But you can reject that, can't you? You could let them all flounder, let Bustier find a new example and let Adrien be the every day Ladybug, get other heroes so that you have a support system. You deserve so much more than the scraps they give you when you preform._

_"_ Actually Adrien, I couldn't care less if Kim needs encouragement. It's not my job to encourage him and like I told him and you, I don't have time. I have paid commissions to do, I have homework to do, and more importantly: I deserve to have free time. The swim meet has been announced for a while, and if Kim wanted a banner he would've asked for one earlier. I don't have infinite time."

Adrien's frown deepened, making wrinkles appear across his model forehead, "But-"

"There's no buts in this situation, Adrien, I'm not doing it. Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I don't have time to. Besides, I would've expected Kim to have more tact than to ask me for a free gift right after trying to trip me up stairs. Do you think he still would've asked if I had tripped and fallen down the stairs, bashing my head and potentially hurting myself?"

"That wouldn't have happened, Mari, come on. Can you do it for me?" He asked, like that was going to change her decision in any positive way. Marinette felt untimely laughter bubble up in her chest and she wanted to laugh at him.

But her class was looking, and she couldn't risk being more of a pariah than she already was becoming, "No, listen to what I'm saying," She rested her hand on Adrien's shoulder and stared him straight in the eyes, "I don't have time, and that's not going to change no matter what you say, or what Kim says. I'm a busy girl, and I just can't excuse putting off something important than to make a banner for a guy who's bullying me."

"I wouldn't say that it's bullying- he's just misled," Adrien excused, flicking his hand dismissively.

_Isn't he the one misled? It's not like he's had enough experience in the real world to accurately place bullying, and yet he still finds himself in a position of authority over you._ The voice hissed in Marinette's ear, and the puzzle pieces started to slot into place. She wasn't sure how much she could blame Adrien for his ideals, or for how he handled issues. How could she, with a dad like his? But that didn't mean that he wasn't hurting her, that didn't mean that Marinette wasn't getting hurt and bullied just because he couldn't see it.

"Yeah, sure it's just him being misled that led him to trip me, or led Lila to try to ruin my work with her coffee. The coffee she spilled today was hot, Adrien, I could've gotten hot coffee all over my skirt. Isn't that bullying?"

Still, Adrien shook his head, "She's just angry that you've been antagonizing her, if you just were a little more passive you could be accepted back into the class!" His eyes gleamed, like that was something so easy. That Marinette could just bite her tongue and happily fall in line and not be considerably unhealthy and unhappy.

"No, Adrien. I won't. You might be okay with letting her lie and use our friends and get their hopes up, but I'm not. If this keeps up much longer, I-" She crossed her arms over her stomach, feeling vaguely nauseous with the plan that she was slowly pulling together- "I don't think I can stay in the class anymore. If Lila keeps claiming I'm bullying her, then Kim's going to get more aggressive, and maybe Alix too! It's my health above them, I can't let myself go through that."

_Good, Guardian, let him know that. You come first, your health comes first. How can you protect Paris if you're in an unsafe area? You have so much to do, why bother with people who aren't supporting you?_ The reassurance in her head only made her straighten her spine.

Somehow, Adrien looked even more disappointed, giving a shake of his head, "Mari, that sounds a lot like giving up. Like you're abandoning me-"

She cut him off with a harsh, surprised laugh. How dare he say that, how dare he claim that she was abandoning him by looking after herself? Especially when he never spoke in her defense, never checked on her after Lila started yelling at her or making up things. Never even tried to speak out against some of Lila's more ridiculous or potentially harmful lies. "I'm abandoning you, Agreste?" Even to her own ears, her voice sounded poisonous, "What about when Lila spilled her water all over my desk the other day, and you said nothing? Or about the time that she claimed I was bullying her, so everyone said I couldn't come to the picnic even though I'd be expected to cater it? Cater it, might I add, with no compensation? Do you know how much free food the class has gotten from me, for things that I wasn't even allowed to attend?"

"Marinette, I'm just saying that-"

"No, Adrien, I'm done listening to what you're saying! You've picked your side, and it isn't mine. That's fine-" Her voice just barely didn't break and she squared her shoulders to try to ward off her emotions- "But don't come to me like you've always been on my side. Don't come to me asking me to swallow my morals so you can stay blind." Her small form was almost shaking at this point, and Marinette couldn't tell if she was about to burst into tears from sadness or rage. But she definitely was going to burst into tears if she didn't get away.

"I think that you're being a little over dramatic, Mari, I think you need to calm down," Adrien made a supposedly calming motion with his hands, like Marinette was some scared animal, "All you have to do is explain that you're busy to Kim, I'm sure that he'll understand. And then you don't even have to think about leaving the class."

Marinette would laugh in his face if that wouldn't be mean (or if she had just a little bit less restraint), and she just shook her head, "I told Kim that I was too busy, and this conversation is still happening." She wanted to say more, to get Adrien to understand where he was going wrong. But the bell rang and she sighed, dropping his gaze, "We better get to class." And she moved away from him, crushing any remaining feelings for him into dust under her heels.

_After all, if he remains blind why should you let yourself get blinded as well? Why should you willingly put on the blindfold just for one person's approval?_ The voice sounded proud of Marinette, the same sort of proud that her mother's voice had been when she finally told her about everything that had been going on at school. Warm and reassuring and letting her know that she was making the right choice here. 

She nodded her head, swallowing harshly as she walked past the rest of her class and noticed the glares when she didn't stop. But whatever, if they weren't going to believe someone that they've known for years over Lila (or even give her the benefit of the doubt), then they could glare all they like. The necklace was right, she had to put herself first after everything that she had gone through. Can't be a savior if she needs saving herself. 

Being the first to the classroom did have it's perks, like not having to look at the ground and jump over feet, and Marinette had enough time to lay out all her books and work. That way her phone could be resting up against a few textbooks and no one would be able to see it, plus she could keep a few spare pages for spur of the moment doodles to keep her mind clear. The back wasn't so bad, and even if Kagami didn't check her phone during class, it didn't mean that Marinette couldn't send her very good friend a few funny memes during her class!

Bustier only looked at her when she wanted an answer, or maybe when she wanted Marinette to keep the peace. It was always her who had to keep the peace, always perfect Marinette who was expected to make her classmates stop acting like kindergartners.

_Maybe you should resign as class president. After all, they're probably going to keep uninviting you to the events, so why should you have to organize or fundraiser for them? I'm sure they'd be super excited to have Lila be the president, with all of her so-called connections. Wouldn't that be a satisfying way to bring her down?_ Marinette hummed slightly as she thought on it. They had a point, that maybe it would be smarter to be passive. It would also be a good idea in case she decided to change classes, that way they couldn't accuse her of letting her flounder. 

Not that that would stop her class, but that was on them. If they didn't want to take her seriously or have her be a participant, she won't. The class passed annoyingly slow after she made up her mind, wanting to get to the end of it as fast as she could so she could tell Bustier about her decision. The semester had already started, was well on it's way in fact, but maybe if she talked to her parents over the winter break she could be in Mendeleiev's class by the time classes resume.

"Marinette, could you tell us the answer to question five?" Mme Bustier's voice shocked Marinette out of her planning, "Since you seem so far ahead."

Her grin faltered, because she had zoned out a bit. Her eyes glanced down at the drawings (Kagami with various animal features), that had overtaken her worksheet. "It's uh-"

_Say it's symbolic of the devil on his shoulder, like how Faust made a deal with the devil and had to be encouraged along that road._

"It's symbolic of the deal with the devil that Faust made, something that encourages him along the road of evil," Marinette recovered, surprisingly fast, as she repeated the voice's words. As she focused on the board, she realized that she had missed the introduction for the new book they were reading. _Faust_ , an old classic German novel that had been translated into (Marinette had to squint to read Bustier's writing) over a hundred languages, about a man who made a deal with the devil.

Unconsciously, Marinette reached up to fiddle with her necklace, rubbing her thumb over the carving. It was a little intimidating, especially since the version that the school had given them was a double version. The German on one page and the French on the other, something for them to get.... "an appreciation for the original language".

_I can read German fluently, I can help you with any sort of translation based questions. But I would suggest reading the story, it's one of my favorites_ , the voice laughed a little and Marinette felt the phantom feeling of someone running their fingers through her hair. 

Mme Bustier looked a little shocked that Marinette knew the answer, but nonetheless she turned around and continued to write on the board, "Very good, Marinette, anyway, there are numerous different sorts of interpretations of _Faust_ , both old and new. We will be focusing on the version that has been closest to the original German, in an effort to remain true to the original story. Today's homework is to read chapters one and two and answer the questions on the worksheet."

So, not two days in a row without homework, but at least Marinette no longer had to worry about having any extra favors from her classmates to do as well. The rest of the day went similarly, with one exception that had the class moving into Mme Mendeleiev's classroom for their science. It was reassuring, being in the classroom where Lila couldn't hold court. Any attempts at it got quickly and efficiently struck down by the no nonsense science teacher. And because of that no nonsense, and the lack of Lila's voice, Marinette could actually work. It was just busy work, stoichiometry today which was a lot of formulas and translating certain units of measurements to others.

It was good enough, enjoyable enough actually, that Marinette found herself wishing that she hadn't even tried to get along with Bustier and had just transferred outright from the start of the year. Definitely would've saved her a good few months of getting glared at and occasionally tripped (one time almost sent her down the stairs, and her heart just couldn't stop racing after that). It was a lot calmer, and Marinette stayed behind after the class was done to talk to her.

"Uh, Mme Mendeleiev?" She asked, a little hesitantly as she waited by the front desk, "This is for the next semester, and I haven't yet gotten my parents permission or told my actual teacher but. Is there any room for a transfer in your class?"

Mme Mendeleiev looked a little confused, shifting her rectangular glasses higher on her nose, "I was under the impression that you enjoyed being in Mme Bustier's class?" But it wasn't a negative, just curiosity.

All the same, Marinette felt herself compelled to blink faster to stop herself from bursting into tears, "It's just- It's just everything, there's so much stress put on me in the class, with Lila and Mme Bustier trying to make me an example-"

"What do you mean trying to make you an example?" Her eyes were wide, the unbothered persona she put up falling apart as Marinette felt tears drip down her cheeks.

"I'm just, she always expects me to be the example, like if Alix and Kim are fighting, she'll look at me to break them instead of doing it herself. And she expects me to arrange everything for the class even when they like say that I'm not allowed on whatever we're doing because I'm bullying Lila. And I'm not! I'm not bullying her I swear!" Marinette wiped at her eyes, shaking slightly as she tried to make herself look a little more composed.

"That's-" Mendeleiev grunted slightly as she moved to stand up- "I'm not- I'm not mad at you, and I believe you. But this is something that we should go to the Principal about-"

"He won't help! He expelled me with no evidence because Lila said I cheated and pushed her down the stairs but she was completely unharmed and no one ever checked the cameras," Marinette wiped at her face as she sniffled slightly.

Mendeleiev's face was a mix of rage and disappointment, like she wasn't really surprised but disappointed all the more for it, "I have room in my class for you, don't worry about it. Once you get your parents permission and the proper paper work, you can transfer into my class. We already have a class president so you won't have to deal with the pressure of that," She placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

Marinette just started crying harder, but she nodded her head, "Okay! Okay that sounds really good, I'm going to- I'm gonna talk to Mme Bustier about no longer being the class president and about my transfer," She nodded her head, affirming to herself that she was going to do this.

_Atta girl, you're doing just right. You're a wonderful student and you shouldn't have to hold the entire weight of the class on your shoulders. You're wonderful, but you're only human after all._ The voice continued to encourage her as she made her way into Bustier's classroom, the tear tracks still clear on her face as she knocked on the door.

"Madame? Can I ask you about something?" Her voice was still a little shaky, and she was still wiping away tears as she moved inside.

"Yes- Oh my Marinette, what's happened?" Bustier pursed her lips slightly as she stood up from the desk to comfort her star pupil.

"I'm transferring classes!" The sentence was rushed out, almost shouted as she wrapped her arms around her body, "After the winter break I'm transferring into Mme. Mendeleiev's class, and I want you know this now so you can choose a new class president so there's not a lot of stuff to do when I go!" There were no tears, not this time. The voice's encouragement was enough to keep her steady, even though her voice cracked.

_It doesn't matter if your voice cracks, all that matters is that she knows. You're so strong for this, Marinette, and if she can't see that it's her loss._

"Oh, Marinette..." Bustier's voice changed, becoming condescending and almost disappointed, "I'm not going to let that happen, you're my star student after all! Even with your recent bad attitude, you're still a good student! And you just have so many connections that you can use in your position, so I'm going to have to deny you that." She sounded like a kindergarten teacher, speaking down to her.

"B-but what?" Marinette floundered slightly as she took a step away from her ex-favorite teacher, "This isn't something that you can just say no to! I'm not going to be your class president anymore, and I'm going to be changing classes. I'm just letting you know but, my mind's made up! I'm not an example I'm just a kid! Lila's convinced the entire class I'm bullying her and you haven't told any of them about her lying disease!" Not that she really believed that there was such thing as a lying disease, but if that's the game Lila wanted to play then that's the game she'll win.

"Marinette!" Bustier chided, frowning now, "Don't be so cruel, Lila can't help her disease and if we tell people she might become a social outcast. I'm sure you wouldn't want that, now would you." Caline rose to her full height, which only really put her half a foot above her pupil.

"So we just let her lie to them? Lie about her connections and what she could do for them, lie about what I'm doing to her? Why does she get so many chances to not be a social outcast, but she gets to start ruining my life?"

"Marinette, I think you're being a little too dramatic. But it doesn't matter, because you're staying in my class and you're staying the class rep," She nodded her head, like Marinette couldn't ever fight back against such a well reasoned argument.

_Don't take her bullshit, Marinette. She doesn't control you, she has no legal right to keep you in her class, especially not if you get parents' permission._ The voice spoke out, once again in Marinette's corner in that same consistent way that it always was.

"No." The word sounded harsh to her own ears, but Marinette just steeled her shoulders, "I am leaving the class, I am stepping down from the class rep position and nothing you can do or say will make me change my mind. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go home-" And promptly burst into tears, but Marinette just fluttered her eyes and turned on her heel. Marching right out of the school and barely avoiding getting hit by cars as she made her way in the back way of the bakery.

She didn't feel like seeing her parents, not like this anyway, and she just wanted to talk to Tikki. Making her way up the stairs, she threw herself down onto the chaise and really started sobbing. She felt Tikki's small hands start patting her shoulder and she heard (distantly, she could barely understand what it was saying) the necklace voice trying to assure her, but it all was just background noise. Moving to sit upright, criss-crossing her legs underneath her as she fumbled with her phone.

There was one person who could make her feel better, and she desperately needed to talk to her. Even though her sight was blurry as hell from her tears and she was hiccuping from crying so much, she still jabbed at her screen enough to hear the dial tone.

"Hello?"

"Kagami? I know you're busy but can we talk?" Her voice was shaky and trembling and her hands shook as she kept wiping at her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right! I've had the entire plot planned out as well as a little future fic because I need those wonderful wlw in my life. It's about to get messy


	6. Chapter 6

"Mari-hime, what's going on?" Kagami sounded concerned and worried and Marinette almsot started crying harder from that fact. From having someone who cared that much about her after dealing with Bustier's complete lack of sympathy. There was a little bit of background noise, like Kagami was on her way home and was currently in the car. 

"I- I talked with Mendeleiev about- about transferring after the winter break and she said that I could but-" Marinette's voice broke off as she sobbed again, rubbing at her eyes as she felt Tikki wrap her throw blanket around her shoulders- "When I went to go talk to Mme Bustier, she said that she wasn't going to let me!"

"What?" Kagami's voice was almost a growl and Marinette just wished that the other girl was in the room with her. Was there to sweep her into her muscled arms and hold her until she stopped crying.

"I know! She just thought that I should keep it to myself and stay in the class and-" Marinette shuddered and sniffled slightly- "She said that I had- that I had a bad attitude, but that my connections were enough for her to keep me on-" Her hands were slightly shaking and she started rocking just enough to calm herself.

Kagami made a rough noise in the back of her throat and there was a particularly loud slam of a door, "She's not going to get away with that, no matter what she tries,"

"I know, I know, my parents are still at work and I didn't want to- I didn't want to have them see me because I'm a huge sobbing mess right now," She gave a rough little laugh as she chewed on her bottom lip as she tugged her hair out of it's ponytail, "But- but I'm not going to get down without a fight, I promise."

"That's exactly what I expect from you, Mari-hime," She could hear the smile in Kagami's voice as another door closed. "Alright, I'm in my room, do you want to Face Call?"

Marinette's reply was just to open the Face call application and stare at Kagami. The little preview screen of herself was a little embarrassing, with the obvious tear tracks and hair that was half out of her pigtails, "Hi, Kagami," Her voice was a little shaky, but she did give a little wave.

"Oh...Mari-hime," Kagami's voice was the perfect mix of concerned and sad, "Don't worry, if it gets to a legal sense, I'm not sure how far Bustier would go but I figured that it's good enough to tell you. I will be prepared to use my pull as a Tsurugi to get you into Mendeleiev's class."

_Isn't that wonderful of her? Actually using her power to help you instead of silencing you, Adrien easily could've helped. You know how Damocles doesn't care unless the students have money, look at Lila, look at Chloe, look at Adrien. None of them ever helped people with their influence, but finally someone's willing to fight for you. Finally someone sees you as enough to use their power for._

Well, when the voice put it like that, it was hard to disagree with it. Kagami was probably her best friend at this point, even though she had a few more friends in Mendeleiev's class they definitely weren't as close as she and Kagami were. "That sounds, really really good, Kagami." She sounded so very choked up, swallowing her spit as she blinked, "Do you think Mme Bustier is really going to be that...cruel?" The world sounded a little over dramatic to her own ears, but the more she thought about it the more correct it was. What else would you call a teacher trying to keep her prize pupil in the class even when it was obviously damaging her mental state? What else would you call someone who expected a student ( _a child_ ) to be an unpaid teachers aid? It was cruel, and Marinette was just really now considering everything that she'd done.

The Chloe thing, allowing herself to be bullied and tormented just because Chloe only targeted her. How she was expected to arrange all of the class trips and outings and- hold on. That wasn't a normal responsibility, that was something that a teacher's aid should be doing. That was something that the teacher should've been doing, not a student. "Oh my god...." Her voice was quiet and she knew that she had zoned out a little bit.

"Mari, what's wrong?" Kagami's eyebrows furrowed slightly, worried that some horrifying world shattering realization had come to her friend. Which was sort of what happened, but wasn't it? Wasn't that what Marinette realizing that she was doing the job of a teacher's aid with no money and also with a whole lot of lasting trauma that's going to affect her. It was definitely going to affect her and now she was going to have to figure out who's the best to go to for therapy, "Mari?" KAgami asked again as she noticed the other was spiraling.

"I just-" Her voice was a little choked up as she wiped at her eyes- "Lots of realizations today. Uh- I kinda realized that- a lot of the stuff that I've been doing...aren't exactly what I should be doing. Like, I've been arranging all of the class trips, and the outings, and I was expected to keep my classmates from fighting. Like- oh god I'm saying that a lot-" Marinette let out a little laugh, blinking fast as she moved around her room. Having to pace around her room to try to work off the energy that was making her head so very fuzzy- "She would just- stare at me when Kim and Alix were fighting or betting and jumping up, and she wouldn't fucking do anything- she would just look at me and I'd be expected to- to stop making them fight!"

"That's-" She breathed out, shaking her head slightly on the screen as she drummed her fingers on her desk- "That's not right- and that's just another reason to get you out of the class, Mari-hime. I don't care what I have to do, but by the time classes resume, you will be in my class." And again, like so many times during their friendship, Marinette found herself so overcome with emotion due to how certain Kagami was. When she told her that she never hesitated, over a year ago now, she hadn't been lying. If Kagami put her mind to it, she was going to accomplish it.

_Kuro kishi was an apt name for her, a dark horse and a black knight that comes up from behind and protects you. She deserves a miraculous, a way to magically protect you as well as in your daily lives. Kagami is a hero, one of the only ones in that school of yours._

And again, the voice was right. Maybe not to the level of taking Chat's miraculous (even though she could, as the Guardian she knew certain ways to retract miraculous from unworthy holders), but at least to the point of having a redesign or maybe another miraculous all together. But she knew that she needed to have Kagami fight alongside her, "Thank you," Her words were still a good deal watery, but it was getting strong. It was a lot easier to be stronger when Kagami was involved.

"Of course, it's just what you deserve." Kagami nodded to herself, adjusting her phone so that it was set up on its own as she began to write something down on her notebook, "I'll look into the necessary paperwork for you to transfer, you've been through a lot today," Kagami glanced up from her notes, eyes a little sad and narrowed, "You should take time for yourself, I know you have that reading, but your emotional health comes first."

"I know- I know I'm going to-" Marinette took a steadying breath and pushed her shoulders back, hands still trembling a little and making her phone shake.

"Make a list, Marinette," Kagami suggested, which is what she always did when Marinette was trembling on the edge of a full blown panic attack. Lists made things easier for Marinette to sift through, plus the numbering just kept her mind on track.

"Okay okay- uh, first thing I'm going to do is get myself cleaned up, and then I'm going to get my parents and talk to them about the- the transfer, third- third thing I'm going to do is take a shower," Marinette put her phone on a stack of books, letting Kagami watch her pace and back and forth, "Then I'm going to take a bath, maybe read if I can do it-" 

_If you can't, I can do the work for you. I can help you with your homework, all you need to do is sit down with a pencil in your hand and I'll take care of the rest._ The voice was reassuring and once again she felt the strange feeling of someone's hand running through her hair.

"-and then I'm going to sleep. I'm going to go to bed early and I'm not going to stress myself out. Can you- do you want to-" Marinette briefly scowled as she fought past the fog in her brain- "Would it be too much for you to come a little early? Just so you could walk me in? I don't want to go in alone, I think the class's really upset already and I just-"

"-I will show up at your house in my car and walk you in, you won't have to go alone so long as I'm here," Kagami smiled at her screen, shoulders relaxed even though her eyes had that familiar flame of passion inside of them, "I suppose it could be a little tough if you're hard to wake up, but I'm prepared for that."

Marinette laughed, a little watery still but she could feel the strain of a smile on her cheeks, "That sounds good, I'll try to wake up early so you don't have to deal with morning me," She toyed with the ends of her hair, tugging on them slightly.

"I wouldn't hold it against you if I did have to wake you up, but if we want to get school on time I should hope that you'd be at least a little up and at them," Kagami smiled, though that smile quickly faded as there was noise on her end, "I have to go to dinner, but if you need me...please reach out, okay?" She waited until Marinette nodded her head before logging off.

Now alone with a dark screen, Marinette's shoulders slumped and she felt Tikki zip up to her shoulder, "Well, today didn't go great..." Which was probably the understatement of a century, "But at least you have support at school! And there's only three months till December!"

She chewed on her bottom lip, eyes narrowed as she moved to her computer. Completely silent and ignoring Tikki's questions as she drew up the school's website, "I think I know how I can avoid everything that Mme Bustier might do," Her grin was slowly growing as she clicked on the calendar, "All Saints break is coming up in only a few weeks! If Kagami really does help with her mother's power, then I could be in Mendeleiev's by the time that we come back!"

"That's a great idea, Marinette! I'm sure you'll feel so much better once you've finally transferred classes!" Tikki flitted up to nuzzle into Marinette's cheek, "Now, lets make you look your best." 

The kwami started to fix her up, and even opened up the Miraculous box so that the other kwamis could help her as well. It was a little enjoyable, having the kwamis fawn over her and make sure that the little remnants of makeup that she had put on were no longer trailing off of her cheeks. Which was a little embarrassing, Marinette realizing that she was looking like a mess in front of Kagami (who had been the only reason that she had even put the makeup on).

With all of the kwami working together, time flew by before Marinette heard her mother come up and knock on the door. "Darling, it's dinner!"

"Oh- okay. And maman-" She asked, blinking fast as she moved her way down into the kitchen. Taking her place at the table, Marinette toyed with the edges of her hair, "I want to transfer classes!" 

Tom Dupain paused and set down his silverware, "Oh? Have things with Lila gotten worse, sweet roll?"

"It's Lila- It's Adrien- god it's even Mme Bustier herself! She puts all this pressure on me to be perfect, and Adrien just wants me to swallow my feelings and Lila just won't stop lying and Kim thinks I'm bullying her and-" Marinette breathed out to try to steady herself- "He then asked me to make him a banner for the swim meet's that today and got upset at me for saying that I didn't have time!" She fiddled with her fork, rubbing her thumb over the little carving in the hilt, "And then Adrien got mad at me for telling him no and tried to make me change my mind after lunch and- And I just can't take it anymore!"

"Well, alright! You know we put your health first and we can start looking into transfer options, do you want to just switch classes or do you want to switch schools," Sabine hummed slightly as she moved to press a kiss to Marinette's head as she sat down next to her.

"Classes, Mme Mendeleiev said that she has room in her class for me. I also have uh, I've been looking into the breaks and I don't think I can make it till Winter break. Kagami said that she could help us speed up the transfer, since Damocles only seems to favor powerful people," Marinette still tugged on the edges of her hair, "I want to try to transfer before or during All Saint's break..."

"Well, if it's possible, we'll do everything we can to make that happen," Tom smiled, reaching across the table to pat Marinette's hand, "Maybe you can get us in contact with Mme Tsurugi, so we can arrange it easier,"

"That's actually really great because Kagami's coming over to take me to school tomorrow, you can ask her then!" Marinette smiled, shoulders losing tension by the second as she started eating. Maybe the necklace really was lucky, lucky enough so that she could finally have the friends and support to do this. Maybe something that could make the rest of her year turn all the way up without having to deal with constant bullies!

She and her parents talked a little more, nothing specific but just a lot about what's been going on in all of their lives. They had taken up talking about their days after Marinette finally started talking about the bullying, a little safeguard to check up consistently on their daughter and make sure that she wasn't reaching the end of her rope. Marinette was all cried out, almost to the point of her eyes burning, but there were a few times during the dinner that she felt like bursting into tears again.

Dinner couldn't last forever, though, and it was probably for the best that Sabine said that she could handle the dishes and Marinette should take care of herself. Take care of herself she did, pouring herself a warm bath and letting herself just soak and drift off almost the point of passing out. The stress of the day slowly melted off of her body as she let the scent of lavender overtake her and stop her mind from focusing on the day. Letting the soft instrumental music take her mind off of the fight with Adrien, the tripping of Kim, and leaving just the wonderful lunch with Kagami. 

Oh, Kagami. Marinette was almost surprised at how close they had become after all of her foolish (childish, immature, borderline illegal at points) actions over Adrien. Maybe they both got clearer heads after Adrien showed his passivity, or after Kagami came out, or after Kagami found out about Lila's bullying. It was sad, and scary and it was horrible to be found on the floor of bathroom sobbing, but if it led to a friendship like this? Marinette couldn't even feel the embarrassment from it anymore.

 _Why stop at a friendship, Marinette? You know you could easily be more with her, if you wanted, and she'd make you happy. You deserve to be happy in everything, Guardian, and you know you could make her happy too._ The voice sounded a little teasing, almost painfully like Alya's whenever she teased her about her crush.

The voice also had a point, it wasn't like Marinette was any stranger to loving girls. She had been proudly (and extremely out) as bi for the past few years, which was a terrifyingly good thing. Marinette had had nightmares centered around Lila lying that she was faking loving girls for Adrien's attention (and if in those dreams, she was dating Kagami, then that was merely a product of her subconscious). But what if she was misinterpreting their relationship? What if Marinette had gotten this all wrong and Kagami had nothing but platonic feelings towards her?

It wouldn't be a loss, after all just having Kagami in her life was more than enough, but it could make things so awkward! Marinette barely stopped herself from catastrophizing as she heard a knock on her trapdoor. Right, Chat Noir was on patrol tonight which meant that he was going to show up at her window. She didn't exactly hate it, but tonight was just supposed to be about her.

Still, her room lights were on and it was obvious she wasn't busy (or at least, busy in the sense she could explain rejecting his presence), so she got out of the bath and drained the lukewarm water. Drying off, she wrapped herself in a little dressing gown that she had made with the remnants of some silk she had left over from a previous project. Her hair was still soaking wet and she brought the towel with her as she unlatched the trapdoor.

"Hello there, Princess," Chat Noir grinned as he reached out to help Marinette up onto the balcony, "So, you look very relaxed tonight, what's up?"

"Oh, Chat it's just the best thing!" Marinette grinned at her superhero partner (not that he knew that), and bounced slightly on her heels, "So, I've recently been having some trouble in school, but with help from my friend it's about to get so much easier!"

"That's great! So, what are you going to be doing?" Chat moved to perch on the back of the chair, his tail thrashing behind him (another thing that she should definitely talk to Tikki about, potential effects of the miraculous for long term use).

"I'm transferring!" She almost squealed out, throwing her arms as she bounced up and down, "My friend Kagami is going to be helping me transfer to her class, which means I'm away from Lila and away from the bullying and away- and this is the important part- from Bustier!" She grinned, bouncing still before noticing how pale Chat's face had gotten, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's _wrong_ , Princess, I just think you're being a little hasty is all. I mean I'm sure your class can't be that bad! I mean there's that boy in there that you're friends with, Adrien right?" Chat caught his tail in between his hands, slightly tugging on them as he wrapped his fists around it.

"Hasty?" Marinette pouted slightly (not a scowl, but she could definitely feel herself getting there), "Chat, I mean- Adrien's a...let's say he's a good guy. But he's not a good friend, at least not to me."

"What?" Chat sounded shocked, like she had personally offended him (maybe he was a fan of the brand, not that Marinette could blame him), "What do you mean?"

"He's just...really passive, and in the situation with Lila bullying me I really can't be around that. I keep getting accidentally tripped in class and in the hallway by Kim, and he wants me to make him a banner! And then Adrien said that I should anyway, even though Kim was tripping me!"

"Well, have you ever thought that maybe he's right?" Chat tilted his head, chewing on his lower lip, "I mean, maybe if you made the banner, you could mend some bridges!"

Marinette paused, mouth slightly agape as she stared at the superhero in front of her, "I- Chat what do you mean mend some bridges? I haven't done anything to him! I haven't done anything to Lila either and it's because of her influence that he's been bullying me! Why should I mend bridges that I didn't even burn?"

"Well, because he's your friend isn't he?" Chat Noir's voice was a little too honest and excited for Marinette's taste. It reminded her so heavily of someone else and she wondered if there were any other emotionally abusive jackasses raising blonds in this city. The sheer amount of honesty was starting to get to Marinette too, making her skin just barely crawl.

 _Who is he to say who your friends are? He learns that this guy is tripping you and bullying you, but he says that you're friends? What a twisted ideal of friendship that he has!_ The voice hissed out, and Marinette gently rubbed at the pendent underneath her shirt. Trying to calm it like she would a hissing cat, by petting it. The action was a little surreal, but this entire situation was surreal.

"He's not! I mean, he once was," And that had been so long ago, back when they were all in ecole together with Chloe and Nino. Back when Chloe was nicer and her mother hadn't left yet so she had no reason to lash out at people with happier home lives. Back when Nino didn't have any actual DJ equipment and he had a little lisp so all of his attempts at beat-boxing came out stuttered and slippery, "But that was a long time ago, Chat, and I can't say that a guy who's attempted to trip me down and up stairs is my friend."

"Well, why not?"

That again made her pause, and she wondered how inappropriate it would be for her to tell him to go to therapy. Marinette shook her head, trying to get the thought out of her head, "Because he could've really hurt me! Falling down stairs can absolutely really injure someone and Kim was trying to get me injured! Friends don't do that- and- and I'm sorry Chat but if you're going to sit here and tell me to change my mind, I'm going to have to ask you to leave!"

Chat scowled, his nose screwing up as his forehead creased, "What? Why! All I'm saying is that maybe you're being a little too hasty here!"

"Yeah, that's all you're doing: saying! You're not listening to me, this has been a long time coming and I'm so happy that Kagami's finally helping me out of Bustier's class!" Marinette crossed her arms over her chest, feeling a little cold in the night air and she wished she hadn't even opened her trap door. 

"I think you're making a mistake here-"

"Well I don't care what you think, get off of my balcony before I wake up my dad," It was a bluff, 100% Marinette never would wake her father up when she knew he had to wake up early. But it was enough to spook Chat Noir and make him polevault away. Alone on her roof, Marinette sighed as she moved back to bed, "Well, there goes my plan to read the chapters..."

 _I'll help you tomorrow, the time it's due is later in the day we can work on it during lunch and if you're asked any questions I can help there too_ , the voice assured as Marinette latched the trapdoor and climbed into bed.

Too tired to verbally respond, Marinette just curled up on her bed and fell asleep. The kwami were in the box, Tikki was in her little bed, and no one noticed just how bright the necklace was glowing as Marinette slept.


	7. Chapter 7

Again, she woke up on time. The earliest alarm that she had set was enough for her to pull herself out of her bed, even if she had more than just one motivation. Marinette wasn't vain, she wasn't! But she also knew that waking up early was the worst thing ever and she wanted to at least look presentable for her. Crush or no crush, Marinette wasn't going to risk having Kagami wake her up when she was just wearing a thin silk dress and had pillow creases on her cheeks. 

Looking at herself in the mirror, Marinette started to apply just a bit of makeup. Nothing dramatic, just a little brighter pink lipstick and a little bit of eyeliner and mascara. 

_You know, putting this much effort into looking good for another women is...kind of romantic_ , the voice teased and Marinette rolled her eyes as she gently popped her lips to make sure that they were properly done.

"It's not romantic! I just want to look good for my friend, is that really that romantic?" There was no response and Marinette could feel the skeptical nature of the silence. She puffed up her lips and scowled at her reflection, "It's not!" She was going to argue further, lay out all of the reasons that putting on make up solely to look good for her very good friend wasn't anything romantic, but before she could, her mother called out.

"Marinette, if you're not down in five minutes, I'm sending Kagami up to wake you!" Sabine's voice was borderline laughing and Marinette wondered if she was really oblivious or if she just was surrounded by people who didn't understand her motives.

"I'm awake!" She called out, rushing a bit as she put together an outfit. Since Chat's visit had left her so drained, she didn't have time to lay one out for herself, but that was fine. Deciding on a white blouse with a hand embroidered flower pattern over the breast pocket and a poodle skirt (which instead of having a poodle had the same sort of flower), she almost fell down the steps again. "Hi!"

"Hello, Marinette," Kagami was in the same sort of school outfit that she always wore, with the Tsurugi crest on her pocket, "You look- very lovely today,"

Marinette felt her cheeks go bright red and she laughed a little, "You think so? I'm really glad you like it," There was a silence, that was almost awkward, before Marinette's eyes went wide, "One sec, I forgot something!" She scrambled her way back up the stairs and grabbed her overstuffed binder, "I forgot that I planned to step down as class president today, and I figured bringing all the things that I had collected would be a good idea!" She was a little out of breath as she quick stepped her way down the stairs and started to try to jam the binder into her book bag.

"If you want, I can carry it in for you," Kagami smiled, moving a little closer to either help Marinette or take the binder, "And, I've taken the liberty of giving your parents my mother's contact information."

"Good! Good- great! Actually, I was thinking about that-" Marinette handed Kagami the heavy binder as she pulled her hair back to tie it up in her pigtails. Or at least, that's what she almost did. But it was time for a change (change was in the air, it was fall after all, maybe it was time for her to change her style), so she decided to only use one ribbon and pulled her hair up into a bun- "Do you think we'd have enough time to get me transferred by All Saints?"

Kagami paused, but slowly nodded her head, "That gives us a good two weeks, I'm positive that my mother can get you in there. But that's a good plan, Marinette, I have to say that I definitely won't mind having you in class with me sooner rather than later," She smiled slightly, but soon her eyes darted away from Marinette, "We should go, it's best to be early rather than late," There was a little glimmer of humor in her eyes as she motioned for Marinette to follow her. 

Marinette kissed her mother and her father on the cheek, giving a happy little wave as she bounced out after Kagami (pausing only to grab her lunch and a little brown paper bag), "Hey, I didn't know if you had gotten breakfast but- I have some croissants if you're hungry," She held up the brown paper bag, a little stained on the bottom from how fresh they were.

She smiled slightly, nodding her head as she reached out to delicately take one from the bag, "That's very kind, thank you Mari-hime,"

"No problem!" Marinette chirped out, smiling as the sun hit her face, "I'm...so happy that you're helping me here, it really makes me feel...I dunno, loved?" A short pause and Marinette watched Kagami's cheeks get redder and redder before she gasped, "I mean- like it really makes me feel cared for! Cared for that's what I meant!"

 _No, you didn't. Her being so ready and fast to protect you and save you makes you feel loved, whether platonically or romantically, you feel loved when she does that._ The voice sounded a little smug and teasing and Marinette could feel her own cheeks burn.

"I mean- I'm glad that I can make you feel that way, because I do- care for you I mean! I don't want you feeling...well, the way you have. You've been dealt a rough deal these past few months, and you haven't deserved any of it. So, that day that I found you in the bathroom, I promised myself that I would do anything to make sure you never went through that again." Kagami's stance was as proud as any sort of knight that were painted in the Louvre. 

"And I haven't..." Marinette's voice was a little shaky, but she grabbed Kagami's free hand and gave it a quick squeeze, "You really are my knight in shining armor, huh?" 

"But of course," Kagami grinned, gently jostling her as they got closer and closer to the school, "If you want, I can come with you into Bustier's, I'm sure Mme wouldn't mind if I told her the reason I was late was helping you face up to that-" Kagami cut herself off, just letting Marinette fill everything in herself.

"Yeah, yeah," Marinette smiled, thinking a little about it before nodding her head a little harder, "I'd like that, it would feel a lot better if I had you there for me. Plus you could slam the binder down for me, get a lot of satisfaction from that."

"Oh I could never take that sort of power away from you, Mari-hime, but I'll come in with you," Kagami grinned as she smiled at her, and they slowly made their way up the steps together. "You'll always have me by your side, and when I discussed helping you with the transfer, my mother seemed like it would be easy to convince her to help you."

"You are...the best Kagami! You're really the best for doing all of this," She smiled and opened her arms, "So- c'mon and hug me,"

Kagami sighed, but there was a little grin on her face as she adjusted her grip on the binder to hug Marinette. Squeezing her slightly before breaking the hug off, "Come on, we got here early for a reason, let's head in."

Since it wasn't as early as other times that Marinette has shown up, the classroom had been filled (save for just a few people, but it was enough that Marinette figured it was time). Kagami moved in step with her, smiling sharply at the class, "Hey guys, I've been thinking about this a lot but I've decided to step down as class president."

She could hear the not too polite cough of Bustier behind her, but she could also see Adrien's narrowed eyes and slowly shaking head. But Kagami was right next to her, and she could see Lila tearing up in preparation for something, so she just cleared her throat to get the attention back on her. People seemed angry, all pissed that she would abandon them (never mind that they abandoned her first).

"I know that you'd want to immediately replace me since my job is so important," Her eyes slid over to Lila before righting themselves, "So I've brought my binder with all of your information for whoever you elect to be my replac-" She didn't even get the chance to finish the word before someone (it could've been Mylene, but the uproar was too loud for her to tell) called out.

"We elect Lila as the new class representative!" And then everyone was shouting support and encouragement, but Marinette just felt free. Free from responsibility and free from the shackles (yes shackles) of being the representative. Her shoulders slumped and she smiled at Kagami, who looked all sharp and sharklike with the grin across her lips.

"Oh, I figured that would happen, but I'm very glad we got this all out of the way. Kagami, if you don't mind?" It truly felt like being a queen, and she realized it was a lot more satisfying to be able to see the full class's reaction to the intense binder, "Like I said, this is everyone's information, emergency contact, other priorities, and limitations that I- well, you know, have to take into account when scheduling trips. There is my old plan for fundraising, and I'm really glad I made this decision early in the year so I didn't even have to make any plans!"

"Well, I mean, c'mon Marinette," Adrien, in a surprisingly bold move, spoke up with a slight smile on his face, "I'm sure you can still help Lila!"

"No." She said, with the same sort of smile on her face, "After all, Lila has so many connections that anything I could do would pale in comparison! Besides, I never had any help aside from Alya when I was the president, and I did just fine. I don't know who Lila will choose as her vice president, but I'm sure they'll be able to take on a few responsibilities when Lila's disabilities get too much for her."

"Oh, Marinette, you see, I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be with inviting my-" She paused for a more than fake sniffle- "Bully on class trips."

Her hands trembled until she felt Kagami's presence by her shoulder, and she just tilted her chin up, "That's actually no issue, Lila, because come the All Saint's break, I'm going to be transferring classes!" There were a few whispers and she could see Adrien's frown and feel Bustier's glare of disappointment, but they just encouraged her onwards. "Since I've had numerous close misses to...certain accidents-" Her eyes were locked on Kim, staring him in the eye before she moved on- "I've decided that the best thing to do here is to change classes to Mendeleiev's class."

"Marinette!" Bustier's voice was harsh and angrier than the woman had ever been with Chloe (so unfair, so disgustingly unfair Marinette wanted to rage at the world for it), "Can I see you outside?" Her voice had transitioned, fast, to sickly sweet and comforting. 

Kagami moved to go with her, but Marinette shook her head, "Go back to class, Kagami, I have this." And she did, because she was tired and done with being Bustier's little obedient prize student. Her shoulders were squared and she didn't ignore the death glare that Kagami gave her class as she left (but that didn't mean she did anything about it, she was long past the time of playing mediator).

Kagami's voice was soft in her ear as she passed, "I'll tell Mme Mendeleiev that you're out here with her, just so that you can stay safe." The concern absolutely warmed Marinette's heart, and she just gave her a short nod. The backup plan was appreciated, but she hoped it wouldn't be needed.

Exiting the classroom with Kagami, Marinette relished in the little clack of her heels as she approached Mme. Bustier, "Yes, Mme Bustier?"

"I thought I told you yesterday that I wasn't going to be letting you transfer?" Her voice was condescending, kindergarten teacher like she was trying to tell a five year old to not shove toys up their nose. "So I'm not sure why you just had to do all of that dramatics with publicly resigning. But don't worry, I'm sure that they'll give you the spot back if you just come back in and tell them that you've changed your mind."

"But I haven't, and I'm not going to do that, Mme Bustier. I'm going to be transferring by All Saint's, and you have no legal right to tell me I can't. The law is very clear in it's wording and unless you want to make this an actual case where I outline everything that you've expected to do- which by the way really fits better with a teacher's aid might I add- and all of the things you've let Chloe get away with. Because really, I'm positive that any sort of court that you took me to task in wouldn't ever side with you." Bustier's expression stayed the same, so Marinette decided to bring out the big guns, "Especially not since I will have Tsurugi lawyers on my side if it comes to that."

That got a reaction, a little paleness to Bustier's face, "You're being very dramatic, and I could easily give you a detention for that."

"I don't think that will stand in any sort of school, so I don't think you can," Marinette knew that her glare was harder, and she could feel something more in the air. A little bit of extra sensation of Bustier's heart racing and the distant sounds of chatter in the classroom. She shouldn't be able to hear that, right? But whatever, it could be like those side affects that Tikki talked about. "I'm going to be transferring, and Lila is now the class president. Maybe she can be your prize student now."

Bustier's face was getting redder by the moment and Marinette had no clue where this sense of pride came from (but she wasn't sure how much she cared really). "Marinette, as your teacher-"

"You're only my teacher for two weeks, so any sort of punishment after that must be brought up with Mme Mendeleiev," Marinette grinned, a little too sharp and she could tell (but why stop herself? Why bother tamping down on the thrill of finally winning over her teacher?). "Now, if you don't mind, class is about to start," She made a fast turn on her heel, fast enough that she couldn't be stopped, and made her way into the classroom.

Lila looked just the barest bit overwhelmed at everyone shouting their ideas for new trips at her, and Marinette almost felt bad. But it was overshadowed by the sheer amount of relief that she felt (Marinette almost felt like bursting into tears from how relieved she felt), and Marinette was glad that everyone was too distracted to try to trip her up as she walked to her seat. The voice in her head hummed, a sonorous little noise that sounded like a white noise machine.

 _You're doing wonderful, Marinette, you just have to get through these next few boring classes and then you and Kagami can meet during lunch._ Marinette sent out the text, as fast as she could to Kagami with that information. After all, she knew that Kagami wouldn't be able to reply, but anything that wasn't a no still got Marinette going to their lunch spot. 

Having the spirit of the necklace helping her took a full load off of her shoulders, now it was a lot easier to keep everything straight when she had someone constantly by her side and making sure she knew just what the most important things were. It was a lot easier for Marinette to relax when she knew that if she had really forgotten something, the spirit would remind her and help her. 

She caught a glimpse of herself in the black screen of her phone, and she wondered when the ribbon of her tie had started defying gravity. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that she could hear the conversation going on in the front of the class (no matter how much she wished she was unable to.

"I mean- I knew she hated me but I didn't think she'd spring this on me!" Lila's voice was thick with (maybe) fake tears, but Marinette couldn't believe her. She had no part in Lila being elected and she definitely didn't have to bring in her giant binder of information.

"I mean- it's not like she really could've known! She just said that we should chose fast and of course we chose you! Besides, I'm going to be your VP, right? I'll help you, Lila!" Alya enthused, and Marinette was pretty relieved that some people in the class still had a brain cell. 

"It's just- do you think she's resigning because of me? I can't believe that she bullies me and then she decides to make the class feel bad about getting her back for me!" Lila got out around her sniffles, obviously a little peeved that Alya didn't immediately jump to her attack. "Kim's just doing what he should! Like I said, in my many, many experiences with anti-bullying campaigns, it's always the best plan of action to let the bully know how their victim feels!"

Marinette, all the way in her back seat, almost burst into laughter, but she somehow tamped down on it. What sort of otherworldly power did Lila have that it could make everyone forget about the years of anti-bullying lessons? It was a little impressive, or at least it would be if Marinette wasn't the target of it all. Still, she just barely inclined her head in order to overhear the conversation better. 

"Yeah, that was a pretty uncool action of her," Adrien's frown was clear in his voice and Marinette was a little surprised at him (not really). For someone whose entire thing was passivity and not rocking the boat, taking such a clear side should've been anathema to him. "If you want, I can talk her into staying afterwards?" Ah, that was it. All in the name of keeping status quo, and status quo said that Marinette sat in the back of class.

"Oh that should be easy for you," Alya said, before giving a little gasp and shaking her head, "Nevermind forget I said that."

"What do you mean?" Marinette started feeling sick, at the thought that everyone but her still thought she was crushing on the school's sunshine. That no one knew that the crush had long shriveled up and died when she realized how passive Adrien was and how unhealthy her actions had been. Even though she originally distanced herself from that crush because of her actions, the more the golden pedestal had fallen down around him.

 _All the better, isn't it? That your crush died easily instead of being ripped out of your chest because you trusted the wrong person too much? Now you can move on from him, move on from everyone in this class. I'm sure Mme Mendeleiev's class would welcome you with open arms. No one outside of this class seems to give Lila the time of day after all._ The voice had a point, but Marinette was too focused on listening in on the conversation happening at the front of the class.

"What Alya meant is that-" Lila's voice dropped lower, but Marinette had no trouble still hearing her- "Marinette has a total crush on you, she's like head over heels for you. I'm sure you'd be able to convince her to whatever you wanted if you kept that in mind," Her voice was a simper (something that grated on Marinette's ears- or whatever she was using to listen in) as she ran her hand down Adrien's arm.

"S-she does?" Adrien was shocked, his voice getting a little higher pitched at the end of it and Marinette heard the little exchange between Alya and Lila.

"Girl. Not. Cool. I know Mari's a bully now, but that's still totally underhanded," The frown in Alya's voice was clear in her voice, and Marinette found it a net gain. Maybe Alya thought that she was a bully, but she still knew that there were lines that couldn't be crossed.

Whatever Lila was going to defend herself was drowned out as Mme Bustier clapped her hands and the class moved to attention. It was a boring class, all practice with no substance (were other classes learning actual things?) and Marinette let herself drift and trust that the spirit would tell her what she missed. There were a few worksheets that she finished easily, and ended up doodling slightly on the sides of it. 

More Kagami, this time focused down around the central three options for miraculous that she could give her. The Dragon was the most defined, because it fit her the best. There was no better dragon than Kagami, not in Paris and not her age at least, and she knew that she could trust Kagami with her life. With how dangerous and destructive the Akumas had gotten, that was something important. Then there were a few different options for the Bee, though something felt severely lacking whenever she stared at Kagami in stripes. 

Then there was the Cat. And maybe it was a little petty but after the actions Chat displayed last night, Marinette was disappointed in him. Disappointed in how he never seemed to really understand how much bullying could affect someone, plus so many of the akumas that they dealt with were the result of bullying. So maybe it was a little bit of a petty pipe dream, to have Kagami fighting beside her (and if a few of the less defined images were of Kuro Kishi saving a civilian Marinette, who was watching?).

The bell rang, and Marinette started packing up. She had barely been able to slip her tablet into her bag before she heard footsteps coming up to her (light and precise, fencer's footsteps, not Kagami), and she didn't even have to look up as she sighed, "What do you want, Adrien?"

"I just- I mean," He cleared his throat, fidgeting with his shirt, "I heard you had a crush on me- Wait I mean-"

"Lila gave you outdated news, Adrien," Her voice was calm, and she had to stop herself from making it sound too mean, "I don't have a crush on you anymore, I did once, but I don't now. I haven't for a while, actually," Marinette slung her back over her shoulder, straightening up to stare Adrien in the eye. Even though he was a good few inches taller than her, he was on a lower step. 

"Well- Wait, how did you know _Lila_ told me?" His head tilted, eyes slightly round as he stared up at her.

Marinette froze, because she was pretty sure that the only reason she could overhear that was because of the effects from her miraculous. But Adrien couldn't know that! "I- uh- I guessed! I knew Alya wouldn't tell you, but I also saw you talking with her and Lila. Elimination, I guess. I mean- it's not rocket science."

"Oh- okay," Adrien looked almost disappointed that she wasn't in love with him, but Marinette wasn't concerned with that. If he wanted to have her attention, then he would have to stop being so passive. "But- really, are you actually transferring? Because I think you're kind of over blowing this whole thing, just apologize to Lila for-"

"Apologize?" Marinette's voice was almost dangerous and she clenched her hands into fists as she moved around him, "I'm not going to apologize to someone who's setting me up to get bullied, Adrien, that's not how any of this works. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to have lunch." She almost marched her way down the steps, moving outside and to Kagami. She was still tight and stressed, but seeing Kagami made her feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright kings and gays, we're getting into the mess now. I somehow went to bed (badly) at 2 am and woke up at 7 doing just fine. Crazy shit


	8. Chapter 8

The lunch break was useful, Kagami and her got a lot done in terms of transferring. They found the correct files and complied everything into a list to be emailed to both of their parents. They even had half of the break left to eat. But of course, that's not how it worked. That's not how it ever works and before they could even discuss having lunch at another location, there were screams from down street. 

"Oh-god!" Marinette yelped as she jumped up, almost spilling her lunch, "We have to get inside!" Mostly because she knew that in the crowd she could lose the other, and make it seem like an accident. After all, she couldn't let Kagami know her secret identity, things would get too messy. Too dangerous and she had seen enough Superhero movies to know that having people's loved ones know about their superhero persona was a recipe for that person getting killed.

And so, as they rushed into the school doors, Marinette doubled back around. Coming through the school doors and bolting her way across the street, to anyone who knew her would be expecting that she was just going home. But no, she again diverted, running into the park and dodging behind a tree. No one was there, and she shouted out, "Tikki, Spots on!" The magic wrapped around her, and again everything was righted. 

The world around her seemed multiplied, detailed and almost overwhelming at first. Everything was in focus all the time and Marinette- Ladybug, she was Ladybug right now- could hear the fight. Maybe not a fight, but she could hear the destruction. A little clicking noise left her lips as she started to buzz up towards it- wait- when could she start flying? Ladybug actually looked down at herself, at her costume and how different it was.

There was now constant plating on her suit, no longer just a magical onesie. Like Chat, she had boots now, but unlike him they went higher up. Transitioning seamlessly to the sort of jagged chitinous skirt of her outfit, something that was a little bulkier than she was used to. Her chest was covered by something that was a lot more like traditional Western armor, like an actual chestplate, "Oh...this is good." She spiraled around in the air, looking at her back. 

There was something new there, something that none of her redesigns had ever really addressed. Wings, a little backpack shaped circle on her back that unfolded to show off actual wings, actual Ladybug wings. Another loud noise and she gasped, eyes wide as she began to fly towards the fight. The time that she had lost was quickly made up, her wings were a lot faster than the yo-yo. There was a little buzzing in the back of her head as she surveryed the battle.

Chat Noir was there, bouncing around the battle and distracting the akuma. Good, gave her more time. The akuma seemed to be an actual monster, just something straight up out of a nightmare. Reminiscent of Mylene's akuma form, honestly, without the fact that fear made it bigger, but the Akuma was already as big as a building. Ladybug dived down, finding her new ability of flight rather intuitive, something that she could just think about. She arrived at the head of it, "Alright, play time's over!" Her yo-yo was still there, even if it was no longer her go to travel.

"L-ladybug?" Chat Noir sounded surprised, but it wasn't like Ladybug could expect anything else, "Is that you?"

"Yes! Don't worry I've just gotten an upgrade!" She lashed out with the yo-yo, whipping it across the akuma's face. It certainly got it's attention, and Ladybug had to quick flutter out of the reach of it's large paw-like hand. She grunted as she bounced off of a building, rocketing her way past the thing and sending her yo-yo again at it's face, "Any clue where the Akuma could be?"

"What is up with your eyes?" Chat said, which wasn't really an answer but Ladybug still let herself perch on the window of the building. It was easy now, whatever her boots were made of let her stick to the glass. She could stare at her reflection, and even with no actual color definition in the dark glass, she could see that her eyes (or maybe her mask, or maybe lenses like Chat's eyes) were compound. Glittering and dark and looking large on her face, she almost looked not human. Almost looked like some sort of alien.

But she couldn't focus on that, not right now. There was an akuma on the loose, something to contain and save and she had to jump away as the hand of it slammed into the building. Like swatting a fly, Ladybug gulped slightly as she stared at the destruction that was almost her. She chewed on her bottom lip, letting her mind take over and start highlighting everything in her field of vision. 

Chat, the lamp post, her yo-yo. The rocky outset on the Akuma's head was also lighting up, so that meant it was a time for a- "Lucky Charm!" She shouted out, raising her hand and catching the resulting item. "What the-" She grunted at the sight of the golf club that had dropped into her hand, and she just barely avoided getting smashed again by flying away. "Chat! I need you to rip the lamp post up and and hold it vertically!" 

Chat bounced into play, trying to hold up the lamp post while still avoiding the akuma's swings, but soon enough he got the post set up high enough that she could wrap her yo-yo around it and pull to create a trip wire. What she expected was for the Akuma to stumble when she hit it's crown with the golf club. What she didn't expect to happen was for Chat to mess up that plan. Even though the trip wire was steady for now, the lamp post was still uprooted from the ground (it had to be, she needed the trip wire to be further up. So she didn't expect Chat to just set the pole down and polevault himself up to taunt the akuma.

"Well hey there, rock man!" He cackled out, smug and high on the plan (that was just about to fail thanks to him), as he swung his way in front of it. His tail flicking back and forth and catching the akuma's attention. It paused its movement forward, making the tripwire useless as it slowly turned to lash at Chat, "Whoa!" He almost yelped (like a kicked cat, that's all that could come to mind) as he swung and wavered on his pole.

"Chat!" She called out, angry and upset and her wings were buzzing so noisily in her own ears as she swept forward, trying to catch the akuma's attention. And she did, was a little too good at getting that attention as she felt the rocky hand close around her body. She hissed, a warning little buzzing that was too automatic to be intentional. She was raised up and tossed into the mouth of the akuma. But she wasn't done, and while she couldn't see in the dark she could still see a little bit inside of the mouth.

Whether it was her actual joints or her armor, something orange (toxic orange) started to leak out from her. Another thing to bring up with Tikki, absolutely, but for right now she needed to shatter the rocks on the akuma's head. Which was about to be a lot easier as she was spat out and hit the building, dazing her for a bit as she heard Chat scream out. But she couldn't handle that right now, if Chat wanted to ruin the plan then she would have to make a new one.

Golf club, head. That part stayed and she just needed to get up there, the lamp post. It lit up and she grinned, absolutely wasn't a lost cause. Her thought process was scattered, skipping around to every sort of small detail and little sentence before she jumped to the exact next one. She made another chittering noise as she jumped onto the lamp post, recalling her yo-yo to her hand as she bounced upwards and onto the head.

Her vision didn't let her see which geode out cropping was the akuma, but that didn't matter. Ladybug went to town on it, knowing that the pain doesn't stick and the person probably couldn't feel it. Plus it seemed to be a crown rather than something that was attached to it, so she didn't mind wacking wildly around with her golf club. Eventually she struck gold, and by gold she struck the akuma and shattered it. The corrupted butterfly spiraling up and Marinette was overcome with the urge to eat it.

But the effects of eating an akuma wasn't something that Marinette wanted to test out (today at least) and she simply caught it in her yo-yo, "Bye bye little butterfly," She said it softly, even as the Akuma beneath her bubbled away to the human, she still stayed in the air.

"Ladybug!" Chat shouted out, pushing himself up to her level, "What's up with the new outfit, I really liked the old one,"

"Oh- uh, it's just a new upgrade, I'll ask my kwami about it tonight. But because of your...incident with distracting the Akuma, I'm on a lot shorter of a timer. Deal with the victim, don't be harsh," And then she was off, fluttering her way back to her house (everyone was distracted and talking and looking down so she allowed herself a little bit of ease as she landed on her balcony and dropped into her bed. 

The second she hit the mattress, the transformation spiraled out and Tikki shot out of her earrings, "Tikki...what was up with my outfit?" She flexed her hands, still feeling that strange little bulk to her body that was on her costume.

"Well, it was an upgrade! Just like you told Chat, it's just a sort of upgrade to your existing powers!" Tikki cheered slightly, clapping her little paws, "When this happened in the temple, there would be this whole ceremony..." There was something a little sad in her voice, and she moved to nuzzle into Marinette's forehead, "But we can just celebrate the two of us."

"The three of us, actually," A voice that was no kwami and definitely not her mother sounded out from her floor, and Marinette let out a loud squeal as she moved to descend down the steps and grab a textbook. It was large and heavy and maybe it could crush whatever sort of being it was (hopefully just a kwami, something small that she could crush), and raised it overhead.

"Marinette! The necklace!" Tikki's voice was almost a hiss, but it was a little too late for that. A bright flash of light went off and Marinette was blinded (not to the point of dropping the textbook of course) momentarily.

She was still blinking dark spots out of her vision, but she still swung forward with the textbook. Expecting to either hit something hard and small or just sweep through nothing. 

What she wasn't expecting was for her to hit something surprisingly human like, with a very human sounding, "Ow!"

Slowly, Marinette's eyes focused on the human (humanoid at least) in front of her. They were pretty, a strong nose and long dark hair tied back in tight cornrows (kept tied with beads and gold bands). Her skin was dark brown and unblemished saved for some freckles dusting her shoulders, and her eyes were the same dark color. The person(?) would be a lot prettier if she wasn't currently pouting at Marinette. But the longer she looked, the less human they looked. A little too perfect and a little too sculpted, as well as the fact that their pupils were sideways half moons. Like the baskets of a scale.

"Who are you?" Marinette stuttered slightly, lowering the textbook as she looked her up and down. They seemed to be physically there, some sort of actual person instead of just a spectre.

"I'm Tiye...and I'm kinda hurt that you haven't actually dropped the textbook yet!" She pouted slightly, a little harder as she crossed her arms over her chest, drumming her fingers on her upper bicep.

"But, what are you?" Marinette did slowly lower the textbook, setting it down on the desk (close enough to pick it back up again). Her hand moved, pinching at the skin on the back of her hand to let her know that this wasn't some dream. "Are you the-" her hand raised up to the necklace still around her neck, and she started recalling similarities between her voice and the voice she had been hearing in her head- "the necklace?"

"Oh! So that's why I've been able to talk to people again!" Tiye clapped her hands, grinning widely as she moved to delicately sat down on the chaise. Her dress barely moved around her, all white cloth and delicate thread work (Ancient Egypt, which made sense with what the archeologists told her at the start of this). "Oh, what fun! It's been so long since I've had a...well I don't want to say holder, but it's rather similar! You see-"

Tiye's explanation was cut off by Tikki's gasp, her tiny paws raising up to cover her mouth as she zoomed to hover near her face, "I remember the rest of it!"

Tiye tilted her chin upwards, one sculpted eyebrow raising, "The rest of it?" Her voice was the same sort of assured that a Queen's would be (or Pharaoh? Marinette knew that the style was Egyptian).

"Well- Marinette, you know how I told you that the necklace was from the first few centuries of Plagg and I being in love? Well, my powers were still working out as to see the limits that the Miraculous gave me, and Plagg was doing the same. So, it's not too out of the realm of possibility, and obviously it wasn't, but we created a spirit."

"That you did!" Tiye flashed a shining white smile, "I'm the representation of Balance, though the people who last found the necklace called me Ma'at. Apparently my necklace was such an important part of the dynasty that I was buried with some musty old ruler. But now I'm back! I'm finally back to start working my mojo!" She laughed again, clapping her hands and she rocked in her spot, "I'm the voice of balance, and I work on a specific case basis. So if my holder is too hard on themselves, too low confidence, I bring them up! Like I did to you," Her eyes warmed as she stood to cup Marinette's cheeks, "You have grown so much, and I am so proud of you."

Marinette leaned into the slightly cool hands on her cheeks, smiling slightly, "I know! I can't believe that thanks to you- and Kagami, Kagami's done so much for me I really should make something for her- have helped me this much! I feel so cool now! I mean, I'm finally getting away from Chloe and Lila and Bustier and- god even Adrien! I'm going to be free!" She laughed, doing a silly little dance and looked up at her, "So, why can I see you now?"

"I finally have enough energy to make myself appear, but don't worry. Only you'll be able to see me, as well as any transformed Miraculous holders. But as long as you're wearing my necklace, you can see me at any time. But don't worry, you can think to talk to me so you're not just talking to air!" She gave a little laugh.

Marinette had so many ideas, so many questions and ideas that she needs to get out, but all of it was shattered at the knock on her balcony. Tiye disappeared, winking slightly and Marinette moved to open the trapdoor. Staring into the face of the one and only Chat Noir, "Oh, hi Chat." Her voice was flat, but she was honestly being a little nice here.

"Hello Princess, I heard you talking with someone, who was it?" He grinned, and Marinette moved out onto the balcony so that there was no risk of Chat coming into her room and seeing the Box.

"Why do you care? I was just talking with my friend," Tiye was her friend at this point, after all the help she would have to be. She moved to sit on the chair, crossing her legs underneath her and carefully crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm just saying, I've heard some things that you've been...kind of mean!" Chat scratched behind his ears and Marinette tried her best to clamp down on her rage, "Like, I know we're all about akuma prevention, you and I, but I just think that you've been a little mean! What if you cause an akuma?"

Marinette dug her nails into her palms, deep enough to bite as she tried to calm herself, "I'm putting myself first. If self care is something that causes akumas, then that should be addressed on the other end. But let's say I stop putting myself first for my mental health, what if I get akumatized from the stress?"

"You won't!" He was sure of himself and he opened his mouth to continue on, but Marinette cut him off with a laugh.

"I won't? I'm not superhuman, Chat Noir, I can't just be expected to never feel, that's not fair!"

"Well, I'm not saying that you aren't allowed to feel, I'm just saying...you can handle a little bit of stress! But those around you might not be able to, shouldn't you put them first?"

_How dare he? How dare he presume your mental health state and how dare he expect you to be self sacrificing for everyone else?_

"Get off of my roof, Chat, and don't come back," Marinette's voice was absolutely freezing in tone, head slightly inclined as she narrowed her eyes at him, "You're being extremely cruel right now, so leave."

"What? But princess-"

"But princess nothing, get off of my roof or I'll get a broom," She gave a little glare as she moved to go back down to her bedroom. She didn't hear any footsteps for a while, so she sat there silently staring up at the trapdoor waiting for the metal noise of the the baton extending.

_If he's not going to go, we might as well work on homework. Classes were cancelled so we have time for you to actually learn about Faust_ , Tiye's voice was a little teasing, almost laughing as Marinette started to move to her desk. Opening the book, she started humming to herself as she began to finish it. Even though Bustier was a horrible teacher, having Tiye's laughing stories about all the times she's brought down the high and mighty in the back of her head was making it so much better.

Soon enough (without hearing the metal clank of Chat leaving), everything was done. All of her homework was nicely tucked away because she wanted to give Bustier no reason to keep her in that hell class. It was a little nerve wracking, going up to her bed that was so close to where Chat was, and Tiye hummed out a little.

_I can put you to sleep if you feel so nervous, you know? It would be just the same as your brain putting you to sleep, but this way you don't have to worry about Chat keeping you up. And don't worry, I'll protect you if he ever tries anything_.

Marinette tucked herself into bed, nodding her head slightly as she turned over in bed and spoke in her mind, "Okay, put me to sleep."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is going to be A T-T-T-T-T-T-TRIPPPPLEEEEE UPLOAD DAY. mostly because the original chapter 9 had a timeskip and I have 1 more scene to include but including it here did NOT work


	9. Chapter 9

Tiye's magic, Tiye's little trick to send her off to sleep was enough to give her the best sort of sleep. No nightmares, no dreams, just wonderful blissful nothingness. No worry about Chat Noir above her, or Lila's tricks, or even her feelings for Kagami (and there were feelings there, Marinette knew what a crush felt like). But still, she woke up on time with her alarm, rested and happy. There was no Kagami picking her up today (a shame), but that didn't mean that she shouldn't flaunt a little.

That's the best way to figure out if it's a slow burn of a crush, to see just how happy it made her when Kagami complimented her. At least, that's what Marinette told herself as she opened her mouth to flick the mascara wand across her eyelashes. Making her eyes (a little stormier of a grey, a little darker than the soft t-shirt grey it used to be) pop and seem a lot more attractive. Or at least more alluring. Marinette grinned and had a little bounce in her step as she drew together her outfit.

High waisted pleated skirt, drawn up above her bellybutton with a sky blue blouse with short puffed sleeves. Cute and perky and it was movable enough in case Kagami decided to bring her out for fencing practice. She hopped down the steps and pressed a kiss to her maman and her papa, "Love you guys, but I gotta get to school early!" It was Wednesday after all, and they normally showed up early to talk and eat the little baked goods Marinette always brought.

Today was profiteroles and croissants, fresh baked from the bakery that morning as she moved to sit on their bench. Her feet kicked slightly, and the world around her was still defined and bright. She could overhear Lila's conversation, all the way on the other side of the courtyard and she really wished she could shut off all of the extra information at will. But she couldn't, so she was stuck listening to Lila enthrall the class.

Marinette seemed to be the topic du jour, which wasn't the best. But whatever, she was about to free and she could be safe in Mendeleiev's class with Kagami and Mirelle and Aurore and she won't have to think about whatever lie Lila was spinning.

"And she- she cornered me after the attack! Telling me that I shouldn't make any mistake or else she'll- she'll hurt me!" Lila blubbered, and even though Marinette's vision was blocked by the stairs, she just knew that she was covering her face.

"Wow, really?" Alya sounded skeptical, and Marinette was at least a little happy about that. Lack of belief in her proclaimed best friend hurt, but that didn't mean that Marinette wanted Alya to suffer under lies. 

_But why bother? Why bother hoping for her to get better after all the harm she did to you? Just leave them in the past, just let them deal with it on their own. It just makes sense, doesn't it? They already relied too much on you, why let them come crawling back and expect you to welcome them in?_

Marinette frowned slightly, thinking hard on that (nothing specific for Tiye to latch onto). But again it was swept away by Lila's words.

"I just- I just think that she should be gotten at least a little back! I mean, Kim I know you've been trying to trip her, and oh- I really apprciate that. You're so kind to do that for me, Kim, I really appreciate it," Marinette could almost sense the fluttering of eyelashes and how close that she leaned to Kim, "I just think, maybe you should trip her up near a staircase! Just a little scare could get her to back off!"

"Whoa- whoa, Lila. I mean, I know she's a bully now and that's really not cool of her but- she could get really hurt from that. Like I know someone who fell down stairs and was like- in physical therapy for full on years because of it." That was Alix, but Alya let out an agreeing hum. 

Lila burst into harder tears, sounding extremely fake but that sort of stuff always needed an instant reaction, "I just- I just want her to feel the pain that I'm going through! Are you trying to say that I'm not going through something bad?" It was a manipulation, plain and simple, but it was effective, and soon enough she heard everyone fawn over her and comfort her. Telling her that no she didn't deserve to be bullied and that's not what they were saying at all.

"Oh, hello," Kagami's voice sounded and she jolted as she was forced to process both areas of sound. She jolted, a little bit of a headache forming from the noise. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just, having a bad day. I have a bad headache," And she rubbed at her temple, offering up the bag of treats, "But you're here now."

Kagami stuttered slightly, a little blush forming on her cheeks as she moved to sit down next to her, "That's very kind of you, and I know headaches can really take it out of you but...you look very nice today."

"Thank y-" Marinette picked up on more conversation and she winced and held her head.

"Look at her, she only really have one friend anymore. And it's that weird Japanese girl that used to be into Adrien," Lila laughed, but a hand on her shoulder made her focus back down on the present and the hear.

"I have Tylenol in my bag if you want some, if it's really that bad you can go home," Kagami was so kind and caring and Marinette just shook her head slightly.

"No, no I'm fine, I just- just probably need to drink some water and eat a little more. By lunch I promise I'll be fine enough to do our fencing practice..." Her gaze slide over to her class, and she hunched over a little, "If everything goes okay today, I mean."

"What's...going on," Kagami's eyes narrowed across at the group, her hand moving down to rest upon the hilt of her sabre.

"I just- I overheard Lila telling Kim to trip me by the stairs," Marinette scowled, grimacing slightly as she rubbed at her bare arms.

Kagami, thinking that the action was some sign of being cold, took off her blazer and wrapped it around Marinette's shoulders, "Then I guess I'll just have to walk with you the entire day."

"You're sweet, Kagami, but you don't have to that- I mean-" Marinette tried, toying with her hair,

"But nothing, I don't want to risk you getting hurt, especially not something that could injure you as badly as falling down the stairs. You're just getting to the point that you're a challenge to fight against, I can't let you stop now," Kagami chuckled slightly, resting her hand on Marinette's shoulder. "But, hopefully you having a bodyguard all day is going to ward off Kim."

"I hope so..." Marinette smiled, but drew out her own profiterole out of the bag and ate it. Maybe the day would get better.

The day did not get better. Sure, being escorted by Kagami all day was a little enjoyable, but every time that she glanced behind her she saw Kim. It was scary and intense and Kagami left for a few minutes. Just a few minutes to talk with a teacher.

But a few minutes is enough and Marinette soon felt too rough hands on her back, shoving her forward. But Kagami was better than they expected, and as Marinette flailed she bolted out of the classroom to grab her. One arm wrapped around her waist with the other latched onto the railing to keep them both up, "Are you okay?" Kagami's breathing was a little harsh, probably from the adrenaline but all Marinette could think about was how close they were.

And how close she was to falling down the steps and how she would've fallen head first and she easily could've been hurt. She easily could've gotten broken bones or a busted head or any sort of things that could stop her from being Ladybug and could stop her from protecting people. 

"I'm fine!" She squeaked out slightly, swallowing as she slowly was moved to stand on her own feet. She didn't exactly feel fine, though, but that was the best response (the only response). The world was (wonderfully) muted around her, but she could distantly hear Kim getting chewed out for bullying. But that was distant, that sounded like it was coming through thick cotton because the only thing she could focus on was the beating of Kagami's heart. She could hear Kagami talking (again so distant, her hearing was so hyperfocused down on the heartbeat everything else was muffled), then she could feel Kagami's hand on her arm and the blazer around her shoulders.

But could she? Was this what sensation actually felt like or was Marinette out of her own body. Distantly, she could feel herself that she was walking and that Kagami was right next to her. Which was good what a good friend Kagami is, she really wished that she could open her mouth to tell her that. 

"Marinette? Mari-hime?" Kagami's voice was slowly breaking into the fog that was surrounding Marinette's mind, "Do you want to fence?" Not an odd offer, Kagami usually suggested physical work out to try to fight through anything. 

If it worked, it worked, Marinette supposed (or Marinette normally supposed because right now all brain function was paused). She felt a fencing sabre placed into her hands, and Kagami moved her towards the practice podium. Pressed right up against her with her hand enveloping Marinette's as she worked the other through their routine. Things were slowly getting more and more clear, less haze covering her eyes and more focus going towards the actions as she started to do it on her own. 

_Come on, girlie, you're better than this. You're so close to freedom, all you have to do it reach out and grab it with both hands_ , Tiye's voice sounded in her mind as Marinette started to dance across the piste. Eyes focusing on the target and she could hear (properly hear) Kagami whoop and cheer.

She moved across from her, grinning widely as she shifted down her mask, "En garde! Prêts? Allez!" The shout was a familiar one, and Marinette lunged across the piste to parry Kagami's attack. Routine and clever and everything that Kagami was, Marinette always felt a thrill whenever she fenced with Kagami.

Their blades clashed, and Marinette was focused as she was in battle as Kagami moved forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before any French speakers tell me that it's "pretes" for two women, have you considered that Kagami's a butch lesbian which is basically a gender in itself (I say as a butch lesbian)


	10. Chapter 10

Marinette stared at herself in the mirror, shoulders squared and sure as she examined herself. Last day in Bustier's class, time for last impressions.

_Last impressions are almost as important as first ones, let them know exactly just what they let slip through their fingers_ , Tiye's voice was proud and slightly smug. While the spirit didn't really show herself physically, it was reserved for some special times. Like Tiye wanting to loosely braid Marinette's hair on her last day, and she was currently waiting for her to finish. 

"I know, I know, I just...there's so much happening right now!" Marinette let out a little laugh, doing her best to keep her head on straight as she drummed her fingers on the desk, "I sent out the jacket to Jagged yesterday and he still haven't gotten back to me on it and I really hope that he'll-"

_-He's going to love it, Guardian. You made a wonderful jacket and he's going to love it,_ Tiye hummed out as she tied the braid off with a small bow, _Now, let's get out there and really wow them. This is their last day in your presence, and you have to make them miss you._ She gave a gentle tug on the braid, making sure that it was staying in place.

Marinette nodded her head, grinning at herself as she adjusted the smart little blazer that she had recently bought. Everything about her was much sharper, heels just a little taller and blouse just a bit more pressed. But that was just for today, just enough to make everyone understand the powerhouse that she was now. She tucked a small lock of hair behind her ear, smiling as her hair swayed slightly behind her. It reminded her a little bit of her small stint as Lady Noire...which reminded her of how badly Chat had been behaving the past few battles.

How it had stopped becoming two people fighting one monster, but started becoming her trying to make sure that Chat's goofing off didn't kill any civilians. Or that Chat didn't ruin her plan or that Chat didn't get turned against her by a mind control Akuma. And then there was how he just kept visiting her balcony, even when she didn't let him in he just moped out there and sighed louder than Marinette thought human lungs could manage.

But that didn't matter, today was her day and no one was going to get in they way of that. Still, her stomach turned over and over itself as she started thinking on it. What if the transfer didn't go through, what if Mme. Bustier made something up that kept her inside of the classroom even after everything that she had done to get out of her clutches. She started pacing, her heels clacking against the floor as she started spiraling.

_Stop that_ \- Marinette couldn't remember her last train of thought, her mind going completely blank as she tried to right herself- _you're going to be late for school, Marinette, now come on._

Marinette nodded, chewing on her lower lip as she made her way from the bakery (kiss to her maman, kiss to her papa, and picking up the little bag of pastries for her and Kagami). School had stopped seeming so large and looming now, everything was managable now. Everything was so much easier to surmount after everything that had happened, in no small part thanks to the necklace. She smiled at Kagami as she entered the school, opening her arms for a hug and squeezing her a little tighter.

"Someone's in a good mood, did you wake up on the right side of the bed today?" Kagami's voice was a little teasing, and as she drew back her hands gently raised up to cup Marinette's cheeks, "Good luck in there,"

Marinette's cheeks flushed and she grinned, "I'm just having a day of class, Kishi, it's not anything big," A little laugh as she used the nickname (perhaps mostly picked out of a way of honoring her hero designs) and she gently pushed Kagami's hands off of her cheeks, "I better go in, best to make a good last impression."

Kagami grinned, giving a little snort as she shook her head, "You're...beautiful today, have I mentioned that?" Kagami tilted her head as she noticed the unintentionally matching blazers. 

"Thanks, I took fashion cues from one of the most fashionable people I know," She paused, letting Kagami smile and puff up her chest before continuing, "Your mother."

Dropping her jaw in fake hurt, Kagami gently pushed at Marinette's shoulder, "You're being rather cruel to me, Mari-hime, I hope you know that. I'm hurt, your wounds cut deep, I'm bleeding out here, don't you pity me?" Her voice stayed monotone and deadpan, but Marinette cackled all the same.

"I pity you so much, that I'll treat you to lunch. How does that sound?" Marinette grinned, giving a little wink as she rocked on her heels. Her hands moved into her blazer pockets, not wanting to show off any sort of anxiety. A good last impression is almost as important as the first impression, it's the last chance to make them know what they missed. "I better get in, I don't need Bustier making up something about me being late and keeping me in her class."

Kagami clucked her tongue, shaking her head slightly, "At this point I can't even say you'd be joking, but I'll see you at lunch." Kagami gave a little inclination of her head as she moved into Mendeleiev's classroom. 

Marinette squared her shoulders, toying slightly with her necklace, and entered Mme. Bustier's room. The room was noisy, especially since Bustier seemed to be living in a fantasy world where Marinette wasn't leaving. Lila, though she was still the class president, wasn't expected to corral the classroom like Marinette was. Maybe it really was a class thing, maybe Mme Bustier figured that she should have to bear the weight of her classmate's immaturity. Pathetic.

_Which is why it's best that you're leaving when you are, any longer and she could make case after case about it being too late in the year to transfer. You're doing the right thing here, Guardian, maybe Lila's lies will crack under the pressure of the class expectations. That is...if they even bother to stop using you for your services. Really, how many times have you brought in free things at your expense? How many times have you stayed up working for long nights just because they felt like they wanted something for you? And then they just leave you, don't they? Just left you in the dust for the shiniest thing. Well, Guardian, I think that you should leave them in the dust. Let them all see that they tossed out a star for pyrite._

Marinette briefly frowned, usually the voice wasn't this negative, and she shook her head to try to clear the thoughts from her mind. She wouldn't need to toss her friends away if they _just used Google to search up any of Lila's claims._ She dug her nails into her palms, frowning a little harder.

"Hey Mari," Mylene said, which was a little surprising in itself. Marinette had overheard (accidentally, because her senses had still been untrained) that the class's plan for her was to ice her out. Make her regret bullying Lila and make her crave to be accepted back into the fold, to rescind the transfer and settled back into the status quo. Honestly, it had gotten annoying, overhearing every little evil plot that Lila had others come up to make Marinette stop bullying her.

So she trained herself to not listen, both literally but also metaphorically. She had Tikki help her hone her new abilities out of the suit, making the overstimulation that had plagued her before stop chasing after her. But she also had Tiye, who made sure that Marinette never (even for a moment) faltered. Surprisingly, it was harder to shut off the senses rather than stop herself from being so affected by things. According to Tiye, it was all a perspective shift. All Marinette needed to do, according to Tiye, was realize that things just didn't matter in regards to them. So Marinette took a step back, and she didn't focus at all on their mean words (which became a lot easier when she wasn't constantly hearing them). 

"Yes, Mylene?" She drawled out, a little bored but not exactly mean. Mylene had never directly bullied her, but she had also never spoken up about anything, always just silently glaring like a disappointed parents ( _what gave her the right to expect more of you?_ ) _._ Besides, sometimes boredom was more cutting than spite.

Mylene seemed a little intimidated by how calm Marinette was, but she continued on, "You see, the class is hosting a little party over the break and I was wondering if you could fix my dress? It ripped over the week and I was looking forward to wearing it so I could match with Ivan and-" Her voice slowly got smaller as Marinette's face stayed stony.

"So, let me get this straight," Marinette's voice was slow and deliberate ( _like a Queen, like someone who demanded to be listened to)_ as she straightened herself in her chair. "You and the rest of the class don't talk to me for two weeks, just because one girl gave you no proof that I was bullying her-" She tutted her tongue when Mylene opened her mouth- "I stayed quiet for you, you stay quiet for me. So you outcast me from this specific class, you don't talk to me, you don't invite me on any class trips. Hell, you didn't tell me about this class meeting- not that I can blame you since I _am_ leaving the class- but you think it's enough to ask me for free tailoring? Unless, of course, you want to pay in which of course I can get out my calendar and we can see what date works best for you. As I'm assuming you'd prefer the dress to be tailored on you for the best fit." She folded her hands on her desk, looking up at her.

"Marinette," Lila's voice was a condescending whine and Marinette had never been more glad that she could turn down the volume of everything and didn't have to hear the nails on chalkboard that was Lila's voice, "Don't be so mean! The seamstresses that I know and the fashion moguls that I've worked for, they would totally do something so simple as stitching up a rip for free! Especially for a friend."

"Yeah, they would do that. For friends. But Mylene isn't my friend," Marinette's hands flexed as she fought the urge to start making insect noises (an instinct that was slowly becoming a problem, especially in class). Mylene had the gall to look a little bit offended, and Marinette just arched an eyebrow up at her, "What? You can't honestly think we're friends, right? This is the first time any of you have spoken to me since...well around since when I announced I was transferring." Not that that meant she was lonely, in preparation for going into Mendeleiev's class, Kagami had invited her to their lunch table to meet the rest of the people.

"Well- I just thought-"

"You thought wrong," Marinette shrugged, pulling her braid around her shoulder to fiddle with the end of it. "I have things to do in my own time, so I can't really just take on projects. Even something as simple as a rip could take up a lot of time, so I can't take it on for free."

"Marinette..." Adrien's voice was on the opposite end of grating than Lila's. Where Lila's was sickly and sweet like cyanide, Adrien's voice was warm and cloying and condescending like chloroform. "Would it really be that hard? I mean it's just a single rip..."

"Well, Adrien, if you think it's not that hard then you fix it," She slapped on a smile, clapping her hands together softly, "There we go, it's all solved. Now, if you don't mind, we're about to have class," She just barely inclined her head towards the teacher, which was the only bone she would ever throw Bustier but she was just tired of it all.

Even with her directing the class again like she used to, Bustier still couldn't keep the class contained and on the book they were reading. Really a shame honestly, _Faust was a fascinating story of a man so prideful and bored with his own rather cushy in the context of the time life, that he makes a deal with a Devil._ Marinette hummed, still trying to focus on the story, but her mind (her _mind_?) had other plans.

Her hearing tuned into the conversation at the front of the room, where Lila was currently enthralling Alya, Nino and Adrien in some tall tale, "You see, I actually know Jagged Stone's personal designer! Like I said before it was going to be me but then my arthritus acted up and now I can't sew anything. Which is why I couldn't offer to help Mylene! But you see, I know all of the new designs for his upcoming Spring Album. He's going to be rocking this wonderful ripped t-shirt with art that I drew!" She laughed a little, coiling her sausage links around her finger. "It's actually really cool and I'm so glad I could inspire Jagged like that."

"Wow! Can you tell me anything else?" Nino enthused, even though he should know that Marinette had designed for him before. But none of that _mattered if it wasn't right in front of their faces, wasn't that right?_

"Nothing that can be passed on, but you're just going to have to wait and see!"

_She's setting a trap for herself without knowing it, she doesn't know that you're the designer and that Jagged will be singing your praises come March._ Tiye's voice was proud and calming, and Marinette rolled her shoulders back. Grimacing slightly at the sound that her joints made, she relaxed back in her chair and continued to write down her notes. There was a plan now, further than just getting away from a toxic environment. A sort of plan that would reveal Lila without her having to lift a finger, no Adrien disappointment, no Bustier expectations. Nothing but her and a learning environment that would actually let her learn. 

Just one more day, half a day now with how much time Mme Bustier was burning through with going over the same sort of trite points that had been made over and over again about Faust. Don't be prideful, don't be slothful, don't do any of the seven major sins and don't make deals with the Devil. It was almost a shame that no one bothered to look into why exactly Faust was so bored, why no one bothered to play with the idea of what had driven him to that point.

Why make a deal with the Devil if you know you're going to lose your soul? Maybe pride, maybe sloth, maybe sadness. But no one bothered to ask.

The time flew by, Marinette spending it by doodling in her notebook (clean page). Mostly Kagami, but this time it was more outfits.. Fencing and action shots, the beginning of an idea for a larger project. It would be hard, trying to fit athletic clothes without being able to ask for precise measurements. Not to mention the cost of the specially padded cloth and the patterns that she would have to use for what she was planning on, but it would be worth it. Kagami would be wearing her design to her fencing match and _win_ in her designs.

"Mari-hime," Kagami's voice was a little soft, soft enough that Marinette was barely startled out of her thoughts, "Come on, you owe me a lunch d- appointment," Her voice tripped over something in the middle, something that Marinette latched onto and then dropped. Kagami doesn't hesitate, she can't be looking for things that aren't there.

"And I'm going to make good on that promise, Kishi," She grinned up at her, gently taking out the piece of paper and folding it over, "And, you might have something else in your future," Marinette let out a little laugh, reaching up to tap her on the nose, "I hope you're good for that Shinto place, because I have really be craving their soup."

Kagami chuckled slightly, even though her eyes went briefly crossed at the tap, "Of course I'm good for it, I'm having lunch with you, aren't I?" She smiled, jokingly ( _jokingly?_ ) offering her arm for Marinette to loop her arm around. Of course she did so, and soon the two girls were making their way out of the room. "So, did you make a reservation? Or are we just going to go in and pray that there's a seat?"

"Of course I made an appointment, I'm not that into winging it. No matter...how many of my essays tend to be that way," She laughed a little, going to tuck her hair behind her ear before remembering that it was tied back for her. 

Kagami hummed, brown eyes warm and ( _loving_ )- and affectionate as she stared at her, "I think you've actually gotten a lot better at planning, Marinette, you've really...come into your own. And I'm really glad that I was here to witness it." Her smile was as bright as gold and treasure and the sun, and Marinette let herself bask in the warmth of it all. Bask in the warmth of being if not loved than cared for by a true Dragon ( _true cat, maybe, why not both? She could handle both like you could handle so many of them, she could be your partner and your protector and all you have to do is take that leap of faith)_. Even the voice couldn't distract her, not today, not right now.

Not when she was arm in arm with Kagami Tsurugi under the afternoon sun, not when she had the pride in Kagami's voice and the light in her eyes. "I'm glad you've liked the change, you've really...helped me through all of this. You've been my rock through this entire ordeal, I honestly don't know what I would've done without, Kishi." Marinette wasn't sure that she could reflect the shine of Kagami's smile back onto her, but she tried. 

_You are more than- than- than-_ Marinette shoved the voice away. She loved Tiye, appreciated her for everything that she had done to help her both in and out of costume. But some moments were for her and Kagami alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD!!!!! 3k hits??? I'm in awe! 
> 
> Also, for you fans of salt and Marigami, I am going to be writing a crossover with Addam's Family Values after this that MAY cause hypertension. Just because I get angry and sometimes goth


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might only get one update tomorrow! My glasses broke and I have HORRIBLE vision so currently I have them fixed with tape but tomorrow I'm getting my dad to drive me to the vision place!

Marinette almost ran out of the school doors when that final bell rang, setting her free from all the stupidity of her old class and the pressure of her teacher and Adrien. A wonderful lunch with Kagami and spending another break with Mendeleiev and getting a few assignments to make up the difference between the classes. Nothing that she couldn't handle, nothing that she couldn't overcome.

The bakery was still open, but Marinette just glided in past the customers to give her maman a kiss on the cheek, "It's finally done!" She laughed a little, before moving back upstairs into her actually home. Of course she can talk about it later, and she would. But right now the only thing she wanted to do was climb up the stairs and throw herself down in bed and scream into her pillow. 

But there were people downstairs who probably wouldn't enjoy the muffled sound of a teenager screaming, so she just face planted into her bed and let out a loud buzzing. A little hissing noise leaving her lips as she curled up on her bed. October wasn't always cold, that was a little rare. But it was already getting cold enough that Marinette was feel constantly sleepy.

"Come on, Marinette, wake up," Tikki hummed out, gently nudging her and nuzzling into her cheek. She barely realized that she had fallen asleep, but she had gotten more and more consistently tired throughout the day.

 _Yes, wake up Guardian, it's break which means that it's time to perfect you_. Tiye's voice hummed out as she appeared, stretching out like she had joints to pop. _You are perfect and wonderful, you know?_ She hummed out as she slowly ran her hand through Marinette's hair, head slightly inclined towards her as she undid the braid. _Just like Nefertiti was, just like Cleopatra and all the rest of them. You are something brighter than anyone else._

Marinette felt her cheeks flush bright and hot as she averted her eyes, "You're too kind, Tiye, really."

_I am only as kind as you need me to be, I am the spirit of Balance after all. You need Balance and I am here to give you that. Now let's work on-_

Tiye's words were cut off as Marinette's hearing focused on something outside of her home. It was annoying honestly, how on and off her hearing was (what was causing it to focus, Tikki said that she should have to actually focus to do that), but she still pushed herself kneel on her bed. Her hands moved on the latch of her trapdoor, pushing it open as she easily pulled herself up onto the Balcony. All of that working out with Kagami must really be paying off, huh? Marinette could tell that her arms were now much stronger than before, not that they were bad before (you can't be a baker's daughter and not be able to lift heavy bags of flour after all). 

She moved on her balcony, to any observer she would seem to be watering her plants but she was really trying to focus down her power so that she could tell where the noise was coming from. 

Park in front of her house, young voices (familiar voices, those were her ex-classmates, all of them), and Marinette looked up from her plants. The entire class was having a party in the park right next to her house and Marinette felt a muscle twitch in her jaw. Of course they would _do this to her, they were so blinded by Lila that they had become stupid in their cruelty_. But Marinette turned her head away from them, moving to fawn over her plants.

The collection was really something that she was the proudest of, lots of plants that could carry throughout a cold winter and still attract bugs and aphids. 

"Tikki?" She murmured, even though she knew that no one in the park could hear her like she could hear them, "When I first unlocked the new outfit, you told me that it was an upgrade of my existing powers. Are there any...side effects other than the senses?"

"Well, yes, a few," Tikki's voice was a little timid as she moved to perch on the bowl, not wanting to risk anyone seeing as she ran her paw along the edge of a leaf and scooped up the little bugs there. "You're definitely going to be unlocking a few more powers when you're transformed, as well as a few physical changes! Don't worry, you're not going to grow antennas and suddenly have wings. But you're going to get a little thicker skin...literally that is!" She paused to lick the bugs off of her paw and eat them. "Sort of like a carapace, it's a sort of defense mechanism because of how soft humans are compared to insects!"

Marinette nodded her head, having already noticed that she was harder to bruise and her skin didn't squish as much when Kagami held her hand, "Okay, yeah I've kinda already noticed something like that..." Without even thinking about it, she copied her kwami's actions. Swiping up a line of aphids and eating them off of her finger, only pausing after the fact to stare at her finger, "Uh- Tikki?"

"Oh!" Tikki's eyes went wide as she watched her chosen slowly start to freak out, "No! No that's totally normal! All of my chosen at one point or another started doing that if they held me for longer than a year! You also might start wanting to eat flowers, so if things start taking off with Kagami you should probably avoid doing that in front of her."

Marinette's face heated and she coughed slightly, "W- nothing's going to be taking off with Kagami! We're just friends!"

 _For now you're just friends, but when you come back to school that might change. After all, who could resist you when you've grown so much? When you've become so powerful and proud in yourself, as you should have always been_ Tiye grinned from right next to her, and Marinette smiled wider. 

"I just- if Kagami wanted to date me, she wouldn't hesitate to tell me!" She protested, though she was a little distracted at thinking about maybe actually dating Kagami. About being able to bicycle over to her house and bring her on an adventure to find Andres, about what their sweetheart ice cream combination would be and whether or not Kagami would put any stock into it. Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn't, but they'd still walk down the Seine and talk as they ate.

_But think about all that you've been through. Kagami doesn't hesitate, yes, but if she thought that you weren't in a mental state that being a relationship would be healthy then she wouldn't ask you. That's not hesitating, that's putting your mental health first and is exactly what you should want from a partner. Once she sees that you've grown into yourself, that you've allowed yourself to ignore that old class of yours, she'll realize that you're ready._

"Or you could ask her yourself! Kagami wouldn't want you to be completely passive," Tikki chirped up, and Marinette got the strangest sensation that Tiye wanted to growl at the kwami, "Sure, Kagami doesn't hesitate, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you took the first step! That would be a pretty good way for you to show that you're ready for a relationship!"

She nodded her head, drumming her fingers on the balcony rail as she stared at the party. Every so often she would notice that a few of the students would look up to her and then start laughing or talking harder.

 _Pathetic move, isn't it?_ Tiye asked from her spot, perched on the rail carelessly, _That they're trying so hard to make you jealous when they're all just ants underneath your feet._

Marinette frowned at that, shoulder's just barely slumping, "Don't be mean, Tiye, they're just a little misled!"

 _Doesn't matter, they still abandoned a star for fool's gold and they should be Balanced_.

That didn't exactly reassure Marinette, shaking her head slightly as she moved back down to her bed. "Whatever, I don't even want to think about any of them right now. Let's do the assignments from Mendeleiev before we forget." It was easier to use the plural for her and Tiye, especially considering how often the other intervened whenever Marinette was doing a problem so wrong that it would take more time to correct than to do it.

\--

Time flew during a break, and before she knew it she was approaching the end of it. It had been an exhausting week, honestly Hawkmoth never even took a break even when the schools were out and most of his targets were relaxing or out of his reach. Tikki had been right about everything (not that she expected the kwami to be wrong, of course). Her skin had hardened and her eyes had gotten a little darker grey as her vision continued to perfect itself. It was a really good thing that she didn't need glasses, otherwise having to explain that to her parents would've been hell. She had also gotten a large appetite for flowers and aphids which was really a plus. Eating the bugs that were trying to eat her plants just meant that her plants were healthier! But eating the flowers that she had so carefully cultivated was less positive, but she could appreciate the fact that she made some delicious flowers.

Her class had continued their annoyances, but with Tiye's encouragement it had all started to be background noise. No matter how loud they got or how loudly they started talking about their plans for the future and how good Lila would be as a class representation after the failure that was their last one. Which was almost hilarious (not insulting, she had grown so far above their petty little squabbles). Though, she did sort of want to see just what Lila had planned. Sure, she didn't have all the connections that she said she did, but she was in a class of people who had a good deal of connections themselves. 

But not enough to care to listen in, she had found that it was less and less often that she actually tuned into hearing their voices. She focused more on herself, on the akumas and finally tracking down Hawkmoth. Adrien's schedule (and the embarrassing amount of pictures, what was she thinking?) had been long discarded and set on fire in a very satisfying night that she invited Mirelle, Aurore, and Kagami over for. It had been replaced by a map of the city, and she had started to track out the direction that the akumas were coming from and going to. Trying to triangulate the possible locations of Hawkmoth's hideout...and the results weren't good. There were so many butterflies and not enough time for her to follow them, and it was starting to be a fool's mission. 

She often had the Trixx and Mullo help her out with that, splitting a little of herself off using Multiply and giving that Mini-Mari the fox necklace so that she could use to get herself out of hard situations. Normally for those nights she just let Tiye pilot her body so she could focus on being the Mini-Mari and hitch a ride on one of the butterflies (after purifying it before it could reach it's target) to see how far she could take it before falling off. It was slow going, but she had started taking more and more patrols to try to get closer and closer.

It had to be in the center of the city, which meant that Ladybug had probably saved the person if they lived there and hadn't just bought a house to do some evil deeds out of. She couldn't rule that out, of course this was a man who took it upon himself to akumatize babies and teenagers so who knew how extra he was. Still, it was a start and Marinette was just searching online to try to find a more specific map of the area for her wall when she heard a little knock on her balcony.

Marinette let a frown tug her lips downward as her grip tightened on her computer mouse. Chat Noir had started a downhill spiral after seeing Ladybug's new outfit and new powers. Maybe it was jealousy that she could use her yo-yo as solely a weapon instead of transportation, or that she could secrete something poisonous from her armor to make whatever was holding her start to dissolve and bubble away. Maybe he was just annoyed at being left out of the loop, but she had told him almost everything that she knew! Not about the necklace, but that would've taken too long and she _didn't really want to tell him about it_. He had stopped fighting in the battles, making Ladybug more and more annoyed as she was forced to fight on her own.

The Ladyblog (Lila blog more like it, but she definitely should've talked to Alya about it by now) was also going downhill. Posting more about Ladybug's Best Friend and about theories about LadyNoire being the real Ship without a lot of actual battle footage. On one hand, she hated the tabloid it had become. On the other, it was definitely a lot easier to get into fighting mode when she wasn't worried that Alya was out in the field and trying to get the best shot. She marked something down on the corner of her paper, just a note (in code, of course) to talk to Alya about taking down the LadyNoire posts. 

There was a more insistent knocking on her ceiling and she almost wanted to break the pencil she was holding. She would've done it if it wouldn't mean that she'd have to clean up the mess or have a chance at getting splinters. She let out a low groan as she moved to open up her trapdoor and climb out onto her balcony, "What, Chat, do you want?" Her voice was a little cold, even though Marinette wouldn't have a strong reason to be currently annoyed at him she couldn't help herself. Chat had never apologized for his victim blaming, but that didn't stop him from continuing to show up on her balcony and expecting her to talk to him.

Normally she did, not out of any real obligation but just because she wanted to see just how comfortable he would become with a civilian in his superhero form. The results were disappointing but unsurprising as Chat had taken to complaining about how mean Ladybug was for keeping him that hard out of the loop. How he was jealous about not having powers and how Ladybug should help him unlock his powers. 

"Whoa there, Ice Princess," Chat teased as he leaned up against the railing, tail sweeping back and forth and just barely avoiding knocking over her plants. "Is it a crime for an alley cat to stop by his favorite civilians home?" He grinned, lazy like a cat in the sunshine as he stretched out. His elbow collided with the clay pot holding her Dill plant and she surged forward to catch it before it could break, "Oh! Your reactions are purr-ty catlike, Marinette!"

Marinette held her pot protectively to her chest, "Thanks, I've been working on them." Her tone was dry, and it wasn't like she could say the truth about how the necklace was slowly bettering her life. How the necklace made her more graceful and more skilled at getting herself out of sticky spots (and how she never tripped down stairs anymore, never tripped over her feet anymore, never ever put a foot out of step anymore). 

"So, do I have a lot to tell you," Chat groaned out as he moved to lay himself over the chaise lounge. He was starting to get on her nerves with this, but she doubted he'd listen to her in or out of her disguise. "You see, I'm having girl trouble."

"Is it with Ladybug?" She asked, voice a little tight as she moved to settled the dill plant back on it's podium. She didn't really care, but she wanted to make him at least think that.

"Actually, it's not. It's this girl in my civilian life and I know I know, I'm not supposed to talk about my civilian life with civilians, but I just won't use her name, okay?" He barely even waited for Marinette's response before rolling right into his rant, "So, she recently transferred away, and she really transferred for no reason she was just being a little petty. But now, when I'm trying to contact her, she's just ignoring me! Like she won't answer my texts or my calls or anything!" He threw his hands up, scoffing slightly as he rolled his eyes. 

It was starting to get a little too close to home, and Marinette's voice was clipped, "Well, have you done anything that could've made her upset at you? It's possible that she's blocked your number." She had blocked almost her entire class's numbers except for Alya and Nino's (who she still had some hope for).

"That couldn't be it," Chat flicked his hand, brushing off her ideas, "Maybe I should go to her house tomorrow and try to talk to her!"

"That probably isn't going to be a good idea, I mean you weren't invited and they probably don't want to see you if they've been ignoring you." Marinette turned around, seeing that Chat was already gone. A little hiss left her lips as she threw her hands up in the air, "It's like he talks to me just to satisfy his own ego! He doesn't even take what I have to say seriously because he's so sure of himself that he expects me to just agree with whatever shit he's spewing!"

 _Because he thinks that he can do no wrong, that he can never be wrong and that everyone around him should only support his points and stroke his ego_ , Tiye grumbled from right next to her, wrapping an arm around Marinette's shoulder and giving her a little squeeze, _Which, unlike someone here, isn't true. Guardian, you can be so much more than what you are right now. Soon enough, you'll be away from this school in the grand scheme of things and you can start recollecting all of the artifacts like me. Wouldn't you like that? Wouldn't you like to have so many more kwamis to pick from when you need something done or someone empowered?_

"I would...I really would. After all, so many of these artifacts can be used for evil purposes. Like how the Butterfly is supposed to be transmission and helping people but he's been using it to turn people into villains," Marinette frowned, shoulders slumping slightly as she thought on how all the other miraculous could be used for evil. It was like a tidal wave of terror, the knowledge of how every single thing in that box could be used to seriously destroy the Earth. Maybe it was safer in her hands than it ever was in Master Fu's.

 _Exactly, he chose two children for what was an adults job. He barely trained you and ignored all of Chat's warning signs and yet when time came for him to face Balance he got off easy. Sure without his memories, but that is easy for what Balance used to be_ , Tiye's voice was a hiss in her ear as she moved across the balcony to sit on the same chair that Chat had been sitting on, _I'm so glad that the archeologists waved down you and not Chat, I never could've handled him without wanting to Balance him._

Marinette smiled to herself, chuckling as she adjusted her pots of plants around to make sure that everything was perfect. All balanced with the same number of plants on either side as she turned one of the flower pots towards herself, angling the blooms so that she could see inside of the pot. One of them was hanging lower, and Marinette reached in to pluck the flower head off of it's stem. A little bit of a cursory look around (had to make sure that there were no kitties looking at her) before sticking the bloom into her mouth and munching on it as she moved to her trapdoor. She clicked off the fairy lights that she had strung up around the place right before slipping down onto her bed. 

The trapdoor had a heavier lock now, something that Marinette had gotten after one too many paranoid nights of worrying that Chat was going to break in. She doubted that Chat really would do something like that, but it did make her feel safer. Wrapping herself in the almost ridiculous amount of blankets she now had on her bed (Marinette had found that she needed to be extremely hot if she wanted to wake up in the mornings), she let herself easily drift off with Tiye's help.

But whatever plans she had for a good day were quickly ruined when as she was in the middle of doing her makeup, her mother poked her head into her room.

"Marinette, sweetie, someone's here to see you," Her voice was a little tight, and Marinette figured that it was one of her ex-classmates who wanted something from her. Unfortunate, but nothing to really worry about. She could easily put them in their place and send them on their way if they didn't want to pay her for her work. Marinette had come very far from the old version who did everything for free.

"I'll be right down, Maman!" She called, not wanting to go downstairs with half finished makeup. That wouldn't suit a queen at all, and she carefully flicked her wrist to finish the wing of her last eye. If she can pack this out of the way in a quick enough fashion, maybe she can call up Mirelle to come over. Mirelle did have a certain odd passion for cooking, so she liked to invite the other over for baking lessons. 

She tugged on her flats as she made her way down the stairs (having no fear that she would ever trip, she was far too balanced for that now), "So who wanted to-" Her words stopped as she saw Adrien Agreste sitting at her dining table, "What are you doing here, Adrien?"

"I'm here to talk to you, of course!" He smiled, and Marinette was reminded why he had earned the nickname Sunshine. But it wasn't enough for her, not anymore at least, to be won over with just a smile as Adrien gestured at the seat across from him, "I think your- uh- your phone's broken! None of my texts or calls have been going through to you!" He laughed a little, scratching at the back of his neck as he fiddled with his glass of water.

"It's not broken, you've just been blocked," Marinette cut right to the chase as she settled herself into the chair across from him. "So I haven't gotten any of your texts or calls because I blocked your number and my phone won't show them." She examined her nails, idly wondering if she should have the girls over to paint them together, "Do you need anything else?"

"Uh- I mean, I'd kinda like to know why you blocked me? And the rest of our friends too! They haven't been able to contact you at all!" Adrien's eyebrows drew together and he tilted his head.

"I blocked you and the rest of my ex-class because none of us are friends and in fact, I don't honestly like them anymore. They were all so fast to believe the worst of me, but still wanted to use what I could do for them even if they ignored me. I might unblock them if they come to their senses and apologize in person, but you...I don't think I'm going to unblock." It was an idea that they had been thinking about a lot, between her and Tiye and Tikki about whether or not Adrien really deserved forgiveness. 

"What? But, c'mon Mari we're friends," He smiled a little wider, almost tense around the edges as he leaned forward, "You should forgive them, I mean it's really not as bad as you're making it seem. Really, the changing classes was one thing, but this is really mean at this point. I think you should apologize to them."

"What is it with guys and telling me to apologize to people who I've done nothing to hurt! I'm not going to apologize for blocking them when they were the ones hurting me, they were the ones isolating and bullying me. You don't get to tell me that I should apologize to them, and Adrien-" She sucked a breath in as she flexed her hand- "That's part of the reason why I'm not forgiving you. The others I can excuse for not knowing that Lila's a liar, but you? Adrien you let them do all of that and you said nothing. You didn't tell Nino to manage his expectations when Lila said she could hook him up with Hollywood producers, you didn't come see me after Kim pushed me down, you did nothing!"

"I was keeping the peace! You wouldn't have gotten pushed down if you just hadn't antagonized Lila!" Adrien protested, scowling now. He crossed his arms over his chest as he almost glared at her, "I shouldn't have had to do anything because you brought it on yourself. You don't rock the boat."

Marinette paused at that, eyes narrowed as she tilted her head at him, "You should go to therapy, and I mean that in the best way possible because one of these days, you're going to be in my spot. And you're going to try to take your own advice and then you're going to still be in the same spot. And you're going to realize just how unfair you're being, just how cruel you're being to me. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses, and for me my losses were my classmates."

"You're being unfair to them, Marinette," His eyes flashed and he stood up, "They're still your friends!"

"Kim was not my friend when he tried pushing me down the stairs! People die from that you know?" Her voice was a little hiss as she stood up, hands balled into fists, "Get out of my house, I'll be nice to you in school but I want you nowhere near my house again. Come to the bakery but never ask to see me again." 

Adrien opened his mouth, before closing it with a snap of his teeth. "You're going to regret your decisions, Marinette, but I'll be here when you realize that." He turned on his heel and stalked out of her house. 

Marinette grabbed her phone and slid it open, typing in Mirelle's number, "Mirror, can you come over? I just- I'm really in a bad mood and I miss you a lot." Which wasn't a lie, she missed all of her friends so much all the time. 

"Of course, Nettie, I'll be right over."


	12. Chapter 12

It had been days since Adrien's visit and since Mirelle painted her nails sky blue. But now the school was open and her nails were chipping, it was time for a repaint (but that could happen after school). She hummed to herself as Tiye started braiding her hair again, still applying her makeup as she stared at her reflection. Tiye never appeared in mirrors, even when she was appearing in physical form. 

"How do you think the school will like me, Tiye?" She hummed out, words a little jumbled as she kept her mouth open to smear on the pink lipstick that she had bought on a trip with her friends.

 _They are going to love you, Guardian, just as much as I do_ , she grinned, even though Marinette couldn't see it she could sense it. _And they will all give you the attention that you never got before. You are powerful and intimidating and you deserve the sort of attention Lila has. After all, you don't have to lie to be impressive, you've really done everything._

"Marinette! Don't forget it's your first day back!" She could hear her mother call from the floor below and she hummed. Looking over herself as she adjusted the sundress that she had. Pale blue with white clouds across it, technically it was Aurore's but she had grown out of it and Marinette had changed some things about it. Like taking off the sequins and replacing it with the left over silver thread from Penny. Aurore would be wearing a similar dress, but Marinette's had a set of black tights underneath it. 

Kagami was picking her up as well, which was always a bonus and had happened less often than Marinette would prefer over the break but oh well. Marinette moved down the steps of her home, waiting outside the bakery with her bag and the various treats that she was bringing to Mendeleiev. While she didn't owe anyone anything, that didn't mean that she didn't like making a good first impression and bringing in macarons for the entire class. As well as her own lunch, and the breakfast that she always brought for her and Kagami.

She was barely waiting a minute before Kagami's bright red card rolled up in front of her, the door opening as the other girl waved her in. "Hey there, stranger," Marinette teased as she climbed in next to Kagami.

"Oh, hush. I couldn't make it over the week because of my mother," Kagami fiddled with the edge of her blazer, rubbing her finger over the button as she restrained herself from tugging on the thread, "Are you excited to be in Mme Mendeleiev's class with me?"

"You have no idea!" Marinette squealed slightly, bouncing in her seat, "I can't wait to actually learn something!" A little laugh as she fell back against the seat of the car, "I can't believe how much time I've probably wasted trying to corral Mme Bustier's class! Ugh, the things I could've been learning!"

"I think you're probably the only person in the school that's this excited about learning under Mendeleiev," She laughed softly, before turning her head to look at her, "Really, I'm...so happy that you got out of there."

"So am I, Kagami, so glad in fact that I made us something special last night," Marinette grinned as she shifted to full face her, pulling out the bag between them, "It's a little much for breakfast, I know, but I feel like we've earned it." Inside the bag was freshly made Japanese sponge cake, "I'm not sure how good it is because I don't have a family recipe for it and I just got it off the internet but...I really hope you like it."

Kagami's smile was warm as she drew out the slice, "I'm sure that I will love it anyway, you made it after all." Cupping under her mouth to make sure that she didn't spill any crumbs on the seat, she took a bite of it. Marinette was kept in silence for a good few seconds before the car parked itself in front of the school and Kagami smiled, "It's fantastic, Mari-hime, as is everything that you make." She slipped the unfinished cake back into the bag, "But it is a little much for the early morning."

"Dang, figured I should've gone with something else. I could've made mochi but those would've been cold at best or melting at worst, so- whatever, we can just eat it at lunch, right?" Marinette scooted her way out of the car, holding her hand out to help Kagami out of the car as well.

Kagami squeezed her hand as she used it to pull herself out, "Of course we can, and I hope you don't mind but I was thinking that we could eat with our class today? Just so that you could better meet all of them."

"That sounds fine! I brought macarons for the entire class as well, I had to check with Mendeleiev for allergies of course and she said they can be passed out before lunch!" Marinette beamed at her friend as they walked into the halls of the school, "I can't wait for this school day to start!" She bounced slightly as she walked, almost twirling around Kagami as she tried to get out her excess energy.

"We can go into the classroom, you know that right?" Her voice was a little light as she tried to corral Marinette into the classroom. It was full, the entire class seeming to be waiting for her. Marinette barely had time to open her mouth to ask what was going on before the entire class shouted out in (almost) unison.

"WELCOME TO THE CLASS, MARINETTE!" The class cheered before swarming her in a group hug, including Kagami. Which just warmed her heart further, knowing Kagami's normal resistance from mass contact. The fact that she would want to participate in a group hug just to make Marinette feel welcomed made her feel like she was on the edge of tears.

"Alright, alright, stop crowding her," A minute into the group hug was enough for Kagami, and she started to shoo the classmates away before leading Marinette to a seat in the front row. "I talked with Mme, and I'm going to be your desk partner. Since I'm advanced in this class, and she doesn't want to risk you falling behind or being confused by where we are in the subjects." She smiled at her, one of the more private ones. Just a little quirk of her right lip corner and the barest dimple in her cheek.

It was also Marinette's favorite smile, "That sounds...really great Kagami- ooh! Wait before I forget!" She turned away from her to focus on the class as she brought out the box of macarons, "I brought treats! I know I didn't have to, and don't worry about allergies I already got the list from Mendeleiev and no one should have a reaction!" She flipped open the box, showing off the brightly colored array of cookies.

"Wow, you're so cool!" A girl with long, curly blonde hair tied back into a low ponytail, "So, you're the same Marinette Dupain-Cheng that designed Jagged Stone's Eiffel tower sunglasses right?"

Marinette felt something cold down her back, at the idea of bragging like Lila. _Not like Lila, Lila's lying. It's not bragging if it's true and they asked first._ "Oh- uh, yeah I am! It was sort of a chance thing too, it was Career Day a few years back and Chloe got us all working in the hotel for the day and I ended up being Jagged Stone's go-for! And then I made them and well...the rest is history!"

The blonde's eyes went wide and she clapped her hands excitedly as she moved closer, leaning up against the desk, "That's so cool- Oh- I forgot that you don't know our names. I'm Allegra LaCroix, it's wonderful to meet you." She stuck out a hand for Marinette to shake, and when she did the shake was sturdy and tight. "So, I've heard rumors that Jagged Stone has a super secret designer working for him...and my theory is that it's _you!_ "

Marinette stumbled over her protests, babbling out syllables as she wordlessly shook her head, "Wh- me? Designer? No! No no no I'm not- I don't- He doesn't-"

Allegra didn't seem to believe her, given the light in her eyes as she nodded her head, "Knew it! And I know you probably signed like a hundred and five forms so you can't say anything, so I won't ask. But I just have to say that if you were the one who did the latest album cover, you have serious talent!"

Marinette felt her cheeks warm up under Allegra's attention, and she swallowed roughly, "Oh- wow that's really sweet of you to say! And, yeah I signed a ton of NDAs so my lips are going to be sealed!"

Stumbling up to the desk after putting his bag at his seat, a dark skinned boy with a shaved head grinned, "Hey, Allan Lahiffe, you were in class with my cousin Nino? But whatever about him- I just want to know if you're the same person that's been doing a few commissions for Clara Nightengale. I was studying her outfits while I was practicing her dances, and I noticed that three of them had the same sort of designer talent. And when I told this to Allegra- she compared that designer signature to the one on a few of Jagged's outfits and realized they were made by the same person!"

She blinked, a little overwhelmed at this point but it wasn't like she could stop any of them. They were just being enthusiastic after all, and it was one way to break the ice, "Oh, Clara? Yes I've done commissions for her! Not as many as Jagged, mostly because she's a newer customer of mine but I have made a few dresses for her! She's actually shouted out my website for my designs and well- I've been packed ever since!" Marinette wiggled her hands, toying with the end of her braid.

"Oh...my god..." Mireille's eyes went wide as she stared at her, her voice soft and quiet like it always was, "You're MDC!"

That got a reaction from the entire class, overlapping gasps and shouts and Marinette was quickly getting overstimulated as her new senses starting trying to latch onto everything that was out there. Her eyes squeezed shut and she could hear everything at once, and feel everything as she felt Kagami's hand rest on her shoulder. Words were getting lost in the noise, too muffled and rushed together to actually decipher anything, but it was enough that she could latch onto Kagami's cool and steady tone. 

What she said didn't process, but all that mattered was that the group started dispersing and there were a few murmured words (apologies? were they apologizing?). Marinette tried to reign in her senses, focusing first on what was immediately around her. Kagami's warm hand rubbing her back, the feeling of wood underneath her hands, the feeling of her clothes shifting against her skin. Her own breathing, Kagami's murmured words, Kagami's steady heartbeat right next to her and the distant sounds of quiet talking. Digging her nails into the palms of her hands, Marinette nodded her head and whispered out, "Alright, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Marinette knew she was right when Kagami's whisper sounded like one, and she just nodded her head harder.

"Positive, Kishi, I just got a little overwhelmed there," She smiled, opening her eyes as she rolled her shoulders back. They talked, in low tones to make sure Marinette didn't get overstimulated again, up until Mme Mendeleiev walked into the door.

She clapped her hands once, twice, and then three times to get the class's attention, "Alright class, as I'm sure you've noticed, we have a new student here with us. Marinette Dupain-Cheng has transferred to our class, I'm sure you've all given her a warm welcome, but that doesn't mean we can pause learning. She's done the very kind gesture of bringing in a macaron for each of us, and they will be on my desk for you to each take one and only one before going on your way to lunch." She nodded her head, sharp and short and Marinette took the chance to slip the box onto her desk.

Thankfully, Mendeleiev didn't mention it as Marinette slipped back into her seat, "So, can anyone tell us where we last left off?" Her eyes roamed the class before picking out someone with their hand raised. Which was another thing that assured her that she had made the right decision, the fact that Mendeleiev only expected answers from those that were ready. That there was no getting put on the spot unless you looked like you weren't paying attention, and even then she'd use it as a learning opportunity. 

Lunch rolled around faster than Marinette expected it to, and soon enough they were all packing up their bags and plucking a macron out of the box. Each and every one of her new classmates took the time to thank her, and Kagami's hand moved to cover hers, "Ready for lunch? If you're still feeling overstimulated, we don't have to go to the lunch room. Just us and our spot is fine by me too," Her smile was soft and bright as the sunshine at their lunch spot, and Marinette just gently shook her head.

"The lunch room is fine, it'll probably be better than the classroom. Because then it's just background noise but that time it was-"

"-Right in front you, I understand," Kagami nodded her head, moving to stand and pull her bag over her head, holding out a hand for Marinette to take, "Well then, since we've decided we better get to the lunch room before all the tables are taken up." 

That wasn't a problem, it seemed, because the second they entered the lunch room they were quickly ushered into the center of the room. Marinette was gently pushed into a seat and Kagami quickly slipped in beside her. The table was a little crowded, everyone trying to get close to Marinette.

"So, I know about NDAs and all- but please tell me about what it's like working for Jagged Stone!" Allegra enthused as her hands fiddled with her hair, going through the motions of braiding it.

"Oh- Oh! Is it really true that he has a crocodile?" Another guy from the class (Marinette didn't really catch his name but she could've sworn it was Jean) leaned forward.

Marinette blinked slightly, before easily breaking into a smile, "Jagged's wonderful, honestly! He's really supportive and the deadlines I have for whatever I'm working on are always either asked for months and months in advanced, or have workable deadlines. He understands that I'm in school and he's all about that work-school-life balance so I never really feel overwhelmed when I'm working for him!" She laughed a little drumming her fingers on the table, "He calls himself my uncle even though we have no actual blood relations, and he comes over to the bakery every time he's in town to learn some family recipe's from my dad!"

There was a little gasp from the table, and someone who wasn't in the class leaned forward, "Wait, your parents run Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie? That's my favorite bakery! I go over there all the time after fencing, what's it like living in a bakery?"

"Oh, it's pretty fun! I mean, I've learned how to cook from a really young age, and hey! Carrying around big bags of flour and trays of dessert have really done wonders for me!" Marinette giggled as she raised her arm to flex off.

"Marinette can I touch your muscles?" Allegra feigned a swoon, laughing a bit.

Kagami interjected as her hand moved to squeeze Marinette's bicep (not that there was a lot of squish going on, it was all muscle), "They're real." There was something in Kagami's voice that made Marinette a little concerned, just a little coldness in her voice that made her turn to look at her.

The attention seemed to help, and the soft smile that she shared with her also seemed to help, "Yeah, Kagami's also been a real help. We've been fencing during a bit of our lunch breaks and according to her, I'm getting really good!"

"Whoa, have you ever considered joining the fencing team? We could always use new blood!" The fencer that had asked her about the bakery grinned as he reached his hand across the table, "Byron David, it's really nice to meet you."

Marinette grinned as she reached across to take his hand, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, it's nice to meet you too."

That was how her lunches went, slowly getting more and more people around her. Soon enough the lunch room was constantly rearranged to have circles of tables surrounding the center two where Marinette and the rest of Mendeleiev's class sat. Of course, that meant that there were fewer (well, no) days that she and Kagami could go out to that small cafe. But that was okay! Marinette had a lot of questions to answer and Kagami was constantly right next to her.

And of course people really couldn't talk on end about one person for two hours, so Marinette had the necessary time to give Kagami attention. Kagami was her darling friend after all, it would be rude to not give her the attention she deserves! Their closeness (both emotionally and Marinette's tendency to lean in whenever Kagami was talking) did get a few questioning glances, but Marinette mainly ignored all of that. They just didn't understand their friendship!

 _Or maybe they can all tell that you're in love with each other and they're just waiting for you to make the next move. I've seen money get exchanged every time one of you laughs at the other's jokes._ Tiye's voice was smug as Marinette rolled her eyes. Still, it was a little exciting, on the off chance that she was right. Her crush (and that's what it was, she had long accepted her feelings for the fencer) was so much better than her one on Adrien. Adrien made her nervous, all nauseous and anxious like she was on a rocking boat and any false move could ruin everything. But Kagami wasn't like that, she was a steady rock that wouldn't leave and wouldn't hesitate. Breaking the tide around her to give her just a few seconds of peace. But she also challenged Marinette, challenged her to be a better person and a better fencer and sometimes a better designer. 

Her crush on Adrien was like getting pulled under by riptide, trying desperately to break through surface tension as everything was trying to drag her back down. But being in love with Kagami was like fencing, a constant give and take and back and forth. Never too much on either side, even though they weren't in a relationship ( _yet)_ , it was perfectly balanced between them. 

"Hey Marinette!" And just like that, her loving mood was dashed by an all too familiar voice. Adrien jogged up to her, still in his fencing uniform with his mask underneath his arm, "Hey- I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Funny, I really don't want to talk to you about anything," Marinette's voice was high and light as it always was, to the point that Adrien just grinned wider.

"Perfect so-" Her words seemed to hit him considering how he frowned and his eyebrows drew together- "Oh, come on Mari there's no need to be rude."

"Only my friends call me Mari, Adrien, but-" A long suffering sigh as she checked the clock, "Ten minutes, and I will walk away if you push me."

"Class really hasn't been the same since you've left," His lips pursed into a little pout, shoulders slumping down as he fiddled with his nails, "All of our friends really miss you, I really miss you."

"Your friends really miss me, they haven't been actual friends to me for a while," Marinette reminded, still walking on her way to class as Adrien trailed after her.

"That's a little rude, but whatever. I'm just...we're all really lonely in class now. They call me sunshine but you were really the sunshine in the class," Two years ago (hell, seven months ago) the words would have made Marinette blush and squeal and faint. But now they just made her annoyed and tired. They had their chance to atone and to apologize and to keep her in the class, and they all spoiled it with out casting her.

"What a pity," Marinette's voice was soft and almost regretful before she steeled herself (remembering the glares and the tripping and the isolation that she had gone through), "But that's on them. They were the ones that chased me away, they were the ones that drove me to this. I don't feel bad for them, I don't have to feel bad for them. So I won't because they've done nothing to make me want to come back or talk to any of them at all."

"Don't you think you're being a little cold?" 

"Not at all, and even if I was, I think I'd be justified," Marinette stopped in front of the doors of Mendeleiev's class, "Now if you don't mind, I have actual friends to catch up with." There was an emotionless little smile quirking her lips that soon turned genuine as she spied Kagami, "Hey! Kishi-" She called out as she rushed into the classroom, leaving Adrien frowning in the dust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glasses aren't getting fixed today, they are currently taped together


	13. Chapter 13

"You're being really unfair, Tiye. I know that they're not really good people, or at least not good friends, but I think what you're proposing is a little...harsh?" Marinette fiddled with her hands, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Some more changes had come over her, leaving her eyes a bit stormier and her skin a bit harder. The cold bit down deeper into her, and it made her shiver even if she was wearing long sleeves. She had gotten a new appreciation for the heat, but also a little space heater that constantly was pointed at her legs. It had been two months since she had transferred, and now they were deep into December. The break was coming up again, and Marinette just wanted to curl up in her bed and hibernate.

_I'm not being unfair! I'm being correct, they treated you badly but they still expect you to be on call. Payment or not, whether you care or not. Sure, you're doing less for them, but that's because they're asking less. You still repaired Alya's dress, even though she asked to have a new one._

"Well, that's because Alya's the most friendly as opposed to the rest of them! She's just a little star struck by Lila's lies-"

_Starstruck to the point that she never asked you, in or out of the costume, about Lila being your best friend? Starstruck to the point of forgetting that her self proclaimed bestie had worked for Jagged Stone? Or that she had seen Jagged Stone's crocodile and knew that he loved Fang to the ends of the earth?_

"I mean...she's just a little busy," A little laugh as she tried to convince herself of that fact, "We're all busy-"

 _But none of them bother to use their brains, huh? They all threw you away for the next shiniest thing, didn't they?_ Tiye's voice was sad and almost motherly as she ran her semi-solid hand through Marinette's hair, _You shouldn't have to worry yourself over all of them anymore, they don't deserve it. Tell them to ask Lila for whatever they need from you, tell them that if Lila's so connected that she'll have no problem doing things for her friends. After all, she's claimed to be so much better than you, than all of them, she should be able to take your place of the class's go-to._

"I mean...I suppose you're a little right," Marinette frowned slightly, too focused on her reflection to notice the glow of her necklace. Brown and light like desert sand underneath the sun. "It just...I mean I know I told Adrien I don't really care but I'm not sure how right that is! They're still my friends, at least a little bit."

 _Even though they betrayed you? Even though they don't talk to you unless they want a discounted favor or just a quick little fix or maybe-_ Tiye's voice changed to be a perfect mimicry of Alix's- _Hey Marinette, I know you're no longer in the class or class president, but would you mind making a tray of cookies for the class meeting?_

Marinette pouted, shoulders slumping down as she supported her cheek on her hand, "Yeah...that is pretty true. I just- it does feel a little needless to be as...as cruel as you're suggesting I be!"

_Were they not cruel when they turned a blind eye to Kim's shoves? Were they not cruel when they let Lila ostracize you? In fact, let's go further back. Were they not cruel when they ignored you being openly bullied by Chloe? All of them looking away and not wanting to ever stand up to the Mayor's Daughter so they just let you get beaten down again and again and again? They were the ones being cruel first, you are just balancing the scales._

Marinette's nails just barely dug into her cheek at the reminder of her old bully. Chloe had left the school after the Miracle Queen fiasco, claiming that she was off on a vacation but Marinette knew the truth. Chloe had been sent to a private boarding school, centered on 'troubled youth' to get her personality in check and make sure she knew how the world worked. She was glad for her, sure Chloe bullied her but...Marinette also knew what sort of home life she had so she did feel a bit of pity for her. But that didn't excuse the hurt, and that didn't excuse the fact that everyone just threw her to the wolves.

Even Nino and Kim (who she known since toddlerhood) turned the other way and ignored the fact that she was getting tripped and pushed down and taunted daily. They stopped hanging out with her because they were worried that their lives would be ruined, no matter that Marinette's life was already hell. They really had all betrayed her then, why had she even thought they'd do anything when Lila started targeting her.

_What makes Lila different than you? You were both apparently being bullied, but it's only now that they defend the victim. What makes you different? What makes them act to protect Lila, but not you?_

Tiye didn't have to answer her own question, because the longer that Marinette stared at herself, the more clear the answer became. Her nails (bright red this time, a gift from Kagami during their last fencing meet up) dug sharply into her cheek, "They think she can do more for them than just a simple baker's daughter." The words were almost growled out as she glared at herself in the mirror, "Well, I'll show them!" She stood up fast enough to send the stool of her vanity to the ground. Her grin was sharp and bright as she smiled at her reflection, feeling the familiar sensation of Tiye's fingers running through her hair. 

She worked on herself for the rest of the night, trying different styles of hair and also just fashion. If Bustier's class wanted to assume that Marinette couldn't give more than free snacks and a tailor, then she'll just have to prove them wrong. By the end of the night, she had her outfit for tomorrow set out. Black leggings with gold and red thread wrapping up the legs (she had designed them for a Ryuuko inspired outfit, but the top never quiet came together), a simple white shirt underneath black fishnets. She was going for a more bold make up look as well, smokey eye accented with golds and a little bit of red.

 _You're going to make them all regret leaving you, Guardian, don't worry._ Tiye grinned as she disappeared into the necklace. _You're going to show them just how bright you truly shine._

Marinette slept easy that night, falling asleep immediately into a dreamless sleep. It was simple and easy like all of Marinette's sleep had become, Tiye immedietely sending her off to dreamland (minus the dreams of course) so she could wake up easier on time in the morning. She did, of course, wake up a little earlier than her alarm to have time to perfect the smokey eye. By the time the alarm rang, Marinette was finishing up on her lips as Tiye pulled her hair up into a braid bun that hung at the nape of her neck.

 _Knock 'em dead, Guardian...that is what they say now-a-days right?_ Tiye hummed as she gave a testing yank on the braid. It didn't move an inch and Tiye disappeared from sight.

"Yeah," Marinette's voice was a little soft as she stared at the complete outfit in the mirror. She could barely recognize herself in the mirror, in a way that she wasn't sure was good. She looked a little more powerful, a little more intimidating like she was about to take charge of an entire team and lead them to victory. Either way, whether she felt like that or not, she looked like it. That's what mattered.

She grabbed her bag and her phone, turning off the alarm that was just about to ring as she made her way downstairs. She air kissed her parents, not wanting to smear her lipstick on their cheeks as she smiled at them, "Last week before the break!" Last week before she would have no excuse to keep putting off her commissions, and then she could finally finish up Clara's dress. Which was ironic, considering that she had overheard Lila bragging about just barely being passed over for being a background dancer for Clara, that she had seen the entire line and that she would tell them all about it. It was probably all lies, the new set was something that was a lot more experimental on Clara's side, so Lila didn't even have a safety net to fall back onto.

Her parents waved her off and she grabbed the same brown paper bag that she always set up for her and Kagami. Sure, their lunches had become less and less frequent and more and more crowded by what felt like the entire school, but they still had their breakfasts together. Marinette had made that sponge cake a few times by now, but had never brought it for breakfast considering how thick it was. At least it was an excuse for her to have Kagami over for the night, just to play games even if she told her mother that it was tutoring. She liked having Kagami over, especially when they decided to try to make the meal together. 

"Hello, Mari-hime," Kagami smiled at her, leaning to bring the girl into a hug. She had gotten more and more tactile over the months, but Marinette still always let her initiate any hugs. After all, she never wanted to make her uncomfortable. "Are you...particularly busy over the winter break?" She worried her lower lip between her teeth, arms still somewhat around her.

"I shouldn't be! And even if I am, I'll make time for you," Marinette grinned before stepping away and giving a little twirl, "So, what do you think of the outfit!"

Kagami paused, giving herself enough time to properly take in all the little details of the outfit, "You look beautiful as always, Mari-hime, am I correct in guessing that this was something that you've had set up for a long time?"

"Actually, this whole thing was a little spur of the moment!" She laughed a little as she toyed with her braid bun, "I mean, I've had the pants done for a while, since Ryuuko first made their appearance, but I never got the matching top to work out. But I kinda like how this looks together!" Marinette gave another spin, flouncing slightly as she held her hand out for Kagami to take it, "If you want, I can make a matching set for you!"

Kagami flushed bright red (Marinette took that as encouragement even if it was clear flirting), "W-would I have to come to your house for a fitting session or?" Her voice went up a little higher than normal for a question and Marinette just gave a little laugh.

"If you want! Or if you're more comfortable with it, you can just give me your measurements from a fencing outfit and I can work on it from there. Depending on the fit you might have to come over so I can tailor them right onto you," All the thoughts of it being in any sense romantic fled Marinette's mind as she started to actually plan out the designs. Her foot tapped extra on the ground even as she and Kagami moved up the stairs to the classroom, "If you want them to be identical, that's cool, but I could also have it be the inverse, or maybe just have a different design on them! Of course that could take more trial and error, but the time spent making it will be the same." She was almost talking to herself at this point, smiling slightly as she started imagining it.

She let out a soft little laugh, indulgent and sweet as she raised an eyebrow at her, "Before you go into design mode, would you mind passing me the bag of breakfast?" It was a little bit of a tease and Kagami knocked their hips together slightly. Marinette huffed slightly, acting like she was incredibly put upon by the request, but handed the bag of warm crossaints over to her, "Much obliged, now please tell me more about your design process."

Marinette knew that her smile was megawatt at this point, bouncing a little as she drew out a pencil from her bag, "Well you see-"

-"Hey- Mari-" There was a little bit of a pant in between the two words as Ivan rushed up to her, bending slightly as he panted out from sprinting up the stairs, "I need your help with something-"

"Sorry, I don't really care!" Marinette made sure her voice was as bright and steady as it always was, a little chirp as she shrugged her shoulders, "I have things to do on my own time and I don't feel like wasting it on people who were never there for me. But don't worry, I'm sure that Lila will be able to do whatever you need!" It was harsh, but Marinette knew that she would need to slam her foot down to actually get any change. Tiye was right, they were only her friends when it was considered safe for them to be and when they wanted something from her.

Ivan stuttered out, but Marinette had no time for that. She took Kagami by the hand and walked into the classroom, sitting down at her seat as she pulled out her sketchbook and flipped to a clean page, "Now...where was I..." She quickly started sketching out Kagami's vague form, giving the most detail to her legs as some sort of base for what they'd look like for the actual product. 

Kagami paused slightly, a little shocked as she looked Marinette over. Sure, the outfit change was surprising (not unwelcome, just surprising), but this was something else. There was a little bit of power even when she was hunched over her sketchbook, shoulders squared and as Kagami took her seat she noticed something more. The necklace, the gift that Marinette said she got from her great aunt, was glowing. A strong, pulsing glow that was barely covered up by her shirt and Kagami wondered if this had happened before.

Of course Kagami wasn't exactly skeptical about magic, not anymore at least. You can't become a dragon themed superhero with the powers of the elements at your fingertips and become mist and water without losing that bit of skeptical nature. After seeing the entire city destroyed and then remade by magic ladybugs on a near daily basis, Kagami had gotten more and more accepting of the idea that maybe magic existed. But non-miraculous magic was new to her, strange to her, and since no new heroes had shown up she knew that whatever was hanging around her friend's neck wasn't a miraculous. If Marinette had the chance to become a hero and fight for the city, she would, so it had to be something else. 

Still, that was a task for another day as Mendeleiev came into the front of the room and clapped her hands for attention, "Alright class, I know it's almost break but the key word there is almost. We're still in school and that means we're still going to be learning!" She grinned, slipping a pair of safety goggles over her glasses, "But, that doesn't mean that it can't be fun!" She grinned as she pulled out a Bunsen burner from underneath her desk, "That's right, it's lab week and that means that you have to pair up and work on the packet for the rest of the week. If you don't finish, you can come in during lunch or after school. And if it's not done by the end of the week, then come see me and we can work something out."

"So, want to be partners?" Marinette turned to Kagami, voice light and almost teasing as she shut the sketchbook before Kagami could catch a glimpse of the design. Well, both the design of the pants and also the little drawing of how Kagami looked when she was focused. Sure, Marinette wasn't the best at figure drawing, but it sure was easy to just stare at Kagami's face to copy it down.

Kagami's face went bright red and Marinette wished that she could draw that expression to, "I- Oh yes for the project! I would love to work with you for this, would you mind getting the burner and our packets so I can move our things to one of the lab tables?"

"Of course!" Marinette chirped out, a little grin on her lips as she moved into action. Easily weaving her way in and out of the other students (with little greetings and smiles of course, she wasn't rude) as she grabbed everything necessary. People just seemed to move out of her way and hand her their copies so soon enough she was returning to the table. "Back!"

"Do you think we'll each have to fill out the entire packet, or is it group work and we just have seperate packets just in case of one of us isn't in class?" Kagami looked around, to see if Mendeleiev was anywhere nearby. The teacher was on the other side of the room, so she just sighed and let her shoulders slump as she attached the Bunsen burner to the gas nozzle on the table, "Well, we don't want to risk being wrong so it's probably the safest bet to finish both packets."

"Oh definitely, I mean it's not like we aren't expected to share the information! That's the whole reason behind partners, isn't it?" Marinette smiled as she organized the test tubes in order of what they were going to be filled with, and then struck the match.

For a second, Kagami felt like throwing herself away from Marinette in horror. As the flame reflected in her eyes, they seemed wrong. Inhuman and compound like an insects, all glittering and black. But the second passed over, and soon enough her eyes were the normal grey (darker, maybe, Kagami would have to compared recent pictures with the first picture of them she had ever taken) as she put the match to the gas and let it light up.

Her shoulders bounced and she leaned away from the fire, "I never get used to watching it light up," Marinette gave a little laugh as she flipped open the project, "Okay, so since we only have one burner we can only take this one tube at a time." She was mostly talking to herself as she started to arrange the vials of various metals and rocks that they were supposed to burn, "Kishi, could you tell me how much of copper that we're supposed to combine with the silver?"

"There's no real specifics, it just says a single piece," Kagami frowned at the instructions, she really didn't like the fact that nothing was set in stone except for the powdery mica. 

The class passed by faster than Marinette expected it to, but that's how the saying goes after all. Soon enough they had to pack up their belongings and triple-double check that the gas was turned off. She smiled at Kagami as she drummed her fingers on her bag, "So, about that fitting! If you want, I'm free this weekend if you wanted to come over!"

Kagami was a little rattled from what she had seen earlier in the class, but still she just nodded her head, "That sounds fine, but of course I'll have to make sure that my mother has nothing planned for me. I'll get back to you before Friday though, I can promise you that." A little smile graced her lips as the duo moved into the lunch room. It was crowded as it always was, but Marinette (especially in her new outfit) had a way of making crowds part in front of her. Within a minute they were seated at their normal table as the crowd resurged around them. It was honestly a little intimidating, at least to Kagami, being surrounded on all sides. 

Marinette took to the crowd like a fish in water though, chattering happily with everyone around them and sounding like she was carrying seven conversations at once. She talked with her hands, wild and loud as she laughed. Then, somehow someone had waded through the crowd with the sole goal of ruining the mood.

Adrien Agreste tapped her on the soul, clearing his throat in a less than polite way, "Mari, can I talk to you, privately?" His eyes bounced around everyone at the table, who were all currently giving him either outright glares or just ignoring him.

"Actually, no." Marinette barely turned her head to look up at him, "Whatever you want to say to me, you can say in front of my friends." The way she stressed the last word made her intention clear: he was not counted among her friends.

"Mari, please, can we talk about this in private?" Adrien stressed his last word as well, a muscle in his jaw twitching, "I don't think that you're going to want an audience for this."

"Then why did you come up to me in the middle of a crowded lunch room when I was in the middle of other conversations? Ask your question and then leave, Agreste," Marinette glared, and Kagami knew that she was the only one focused on the glowing necklace underneath her shirt. Could anyone else see that? Was it only her that knew what was going on?

"Look, I just think you're being unnecessarily mean to our friends. You really hurt Ivan today and you should've taken into account his feelings. You should've really told him that you were going to help out, I mean how hard would it really be to help a friend?" Adrien sounded almost smug, like he had caught Marinette slacking on something. "But hey, he's not too upset just so long as you come back and tell him that you're willing to help."

Marinette's face tightened, her smile quickly becoming faker, "You're wrong. Adrien, Ivan isn't my friend, you're not my friend and I don't have to do anything that I don't want to do. Including, continuing this conversation." As if blocking him from her sight will make him leave, Marinette turned away from him to face the rest of the group. "So, where were we?"

"Mari-" Adrien tried, not getting any of the obvious hints laid out for him, reached out to touch Marinette's shoulder, but his hand was slapped away.

Byron was frowning at him, bushy eyebrows drawn together, "Dude, get the hint. She doesn't want to talk to you, and you're not friends. I'm sure she's told you this herself but, only her friends are allowed to call her Mari. Now get going, dude, you're just embarrassing yourself at this point."

For a brief moment, Adrien's face contorted into something angry and dark, before it flattened out into his model smile, "Fine, whatever!" He stormed away, letting the crowd close around him as he marched out of the way.

"Sorry that he's being like that to you, Mari, no clue why he's been so annoying lately," Byron rolled his eyes as he settled into his seat, a few places away from the two, "He's been asking about you during fencing, it's sort of creepy at this point. Don't worry though, none of us tell him anything."

"Thank you, Byron, I really appreciate that," Marinette smiled as she leaned over to pat his hand, "Anyway, let's stop giving him any attention! Who wants to come over after school for a baking lesson?"

That certainly got the topic changed, and soon enough the cheer of the room grew back as they all started asking what sort of stuff they could make. It was a little thrilling, having so many people wanting to hang out with her just to spend time with her. Not because there's the promise of anything free, or that she'd be making them something. They just wanted to learn from her and have fun doing it.

The entire day had been nice, save for Adrien's speech at lunch, and Marinette was slowly winding down from the day when she heard a knock on her ceiling. Blowing a low breath out of her voice, Marinette just continued to slowly undo the braid bun. No point in rushing up to see him, and she was half hoping that if she took long enough he'd just give up. But of course, nothing could ever be that easy and just as Marinette had gotten her hair loose, there was another knock up on the ceiling.

Huffing and rolling her eyes, Marinette drew a sweater around her shoulders and opened the trap door. While cold, there wasn't any snow yet and that was really the only reason she didn't just leave him up there, "What do you want Chat?"

For once, there wasn't any jokes in response. Chat was leaning up against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest, "I'm here to say that I'm disappoint in how you've been acting. I'm not revealing my identity, but I do know people who know you and they've all been telling me some disappointing things."

"Oh, like how I'm no longer a doormat and they're upset about that?" She knew her voice was a little mean, but she didn't care enough to try to modulate her tone. Chat's behavior was starting to grate on her, both in and out of the suit, and it was all coming to a boil in her opinion.

"No, it's just that you're no longer being as helpful as you used to be. And, I know that your identity as Multimouse was revealed to me, but I was hoping that if you proved to be really trustworthy outside of the suit, that I'd be able to convince Ladybug to entrust you with a different Miraculous." He gave a long suffering sigh, looking away from her.

Marinette felt like bursting out laughing, or screaming. Laughter was the safer option so she went with that, even though she couldn't exactly tell Chat what was so funny. The idea that she wasn't worthy of holding a miraculous just because she didn't let people walk all over her, the fact that he thought that he'd be able to convince her using solely his word to give someone a miraculous. But there was a part that she could admit to laughing to, "I don't want to be a temporary hero! I already have way too much on my plate without the fate of Paris in my hands!"

Chat frowned harder at her, "Mari, you still shouldn't be so mean in your civilian life. I mean, how hard would it be for you to do things for your friends? How hard is it to just sacrifice a little time to help a friend?" The words were all too familiar and Marinette wondered if Chat's civilian insider was Adrien.

"You're right, it wouldn't be hard at all to sacrifice time for my friends! The issue is, the only people asking for things are all people who I'm not friends with!" She clapped her hands together, obviously feigning glee, "Now get off of my roof. You either have horrible information or biased information, but either way you're supposed to be on patrol and yet you're pestering a civilian."

"What if someone gets akumatized because of you?"

"If they get akumatized because I refused to do something for them, that's on them. I shouldn't be expected to sacrifice my free time just on the off case someone might get akumatized, that's not fair to me. Now get off of my roof, or don't- whatever!" She huffed as she moved to the trapdoor, "And don't come back, I don't like these talks of ours." With that final word, she slammed the trapdoor shut and locked the padlock. 

Tucking the key back in it's puzzle box, Marinette sighed as she laid on her bed. Staring up at the ceiling with an overwhelming amount of dread sitting in her chest, thinking about just how irresponsible and out of his field Chat was. What was he thinking, coming to use his power as a superhero to influence her daily life?

_He was thinking that he could change you by claiming some position of power of you. That you would respect authority even from a person in a leather cat suit, which is a ridiculous get up. Just proves that he's not worthy of having a miraculous, if it's been this long and he hasn't unlocked anything new._

That thought was on her mind as she rolled over in her bed, wondering just how worthy Chat Noir really was of having his miraculous. Sure, Master Fu gave it to him, but she had long stopped trusting Master Fu's judgement. It was something that warranted further investigation, that's for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter gives us Kagami POV!!!
> 
> Might only ACTUALLY get one chapter tomorrow, since I have my college class and also finally getting my glasses fixed might not leave me a lot of time to write!


	14. Chapter 14

When Kagami Tsurugi woke up, something in her gut told her that it was going to be a bad day. There was nothing in the sky, or in the forecast, that told her that. For all signs pointed to clear and sunny skies all day, barring any akuma attacks of course. But still, as Kagami packed up her bag and made sure everything was in it's place, she couldn't get the feeling that something was going to go wrong out of her mind. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe it was just a bad day, but it could be something more (it could always be something more in this world of magic).

Winter break had been in progress for a week at this point, and Kagami had gotten into a strange rhythm. If there was an Akuma attack anywhere near her, she'd find herself drifting towards it. She wasn't being dangerous, wasn't bolting into danger for the latest scoop unlike a certain blogger. She was just looking out for a chance to talk with the hero, wanting to ask about various non-miraculous artifacts. After all, she had to figure out what is going on with that necklace that Marinette's been wearing. Maybe it wasn't a miraculous, it probably wasn't and Kagami had a list of all the reason that it couldn't have been, but there was something inside of it. Some sort of spirit or power or magic, even if it wasn't enough to make Marinette into anymore of a hero than she already was.

It was a weekend, which meant that Kagami was allowed to spend time with her friends. Today, it was a trip to the Louvre with Mireille, Aurore, and Marinette. Not that it was their first (or their last for that matter), but it was a nice little routine. Someone had once said it would take more than a year to see every individual piece in the Louvre, but they were making good progress. The trip also functioned as a date for Aurore and Mireille, but when Kagami let herself think about it she wanted so badly turn the trips into double dates. But that was for later, that was for when everything was clear and made sense. 

She wondered if the other two knew about her crush on Marinette, she wasn't exactly the most subtle of romancers. Kagami had also been looking into love languages and she wondered if there was a sort of disconnect. She showed her affection with physical affection mostly because she was normally so restrained, but considering how easily Marinette hugged people maybe she just saw that as Kagami thawing instead of Kagami trying to communicate something more. But that was okay, Kagami just had to figure out Marinette's love language and then it would be all smooth sailing, right? Maybe she could frame it as a sort of friendship quiz, that should work.

Kagami, stuck in her thoughts, got all the way to the car before the tell-tale screams echoing in the air and the ringing of her phone alerted her to an in process akuma attack. She cursed, briefly and in Japanese, to herself as she checked the akuma alert app. Swiping past a message from Marinette saying that she might have to miss the Louvre appointment because her parents preferred her staying inside while an akuma was attacking. But as she accessed the map, she noticed that the attack was in walking distance.

Maybe this would finally be her chance to ask Ladybug about magical artifacts, and Kagami decided to grab the bike from the garage. Sure, her mother may be a tad overbearing and overprotective, but Kagami still had a bike. Sometimes taking a car was inconvenient, but walking would take too long. Kagami hopped onto her bike and started pedaling as fast as she physically could, letting the wind whip at her hair as she made her way to the center of the attack. Staying on the back streets and out of the way, dipping into a few allyways as she watched Ladybug fly at the sandstorm of a monster. She was truly someone to look up to, and Kagami paused her pedaling just to gaze up at how fearless she was.

Speeding in on her wings to try to lash at something in the center, even as her yo-yo seemed to just useless go through it she still fought on. Soon enough, it seemed to be time for a different plan. Ladybug flew away onto a building and called for her lucky charm, Kagami could see the tell tale red flash from here. Maybe it was too much to hope for, maybe Kagami was just being a fool, but she still dived into the alleyway. Away from any spies or civilians and waited with baited breath, hoping that maybe she was right. Maybe she could have one last chance at being a hero like in all of her stories that she read by flashlight underneath her covers. 

The pit in her gut was soon forgotten, unable to be seen as Ladybug landed in front of her. Powerful and otherworldly and alien with those compound eyes and wings, maybe all of those theories about her not even being human were right. "Kagami Tsurugi, I need your help for this battle." Her voice was strong and powerful and made Kagami's knees just a little weak. As she opened her yo-yo, she drew out a familiar necklace, "This is the Miraculous of the Dragon, you know the powers and you know the responsibilities that come with. Can I trust you with this?"

"I thought Hawkmoth already knew my identity?" were the first words out of her mouth as she stared at the choker being offered, "I thought...I could never be the dragon again."

"True, you can never be Ryuuko again, but that doesn't mean with a new costume and name that you can't come back," Ladybug's gaze was serious and unreadable, staring right into Kagami's eyes as she held it out, "So, I ask again, can I trust you with this responsibility?"

Kagami was reminded of a day, months ago at this point, where she sat in cafe with Marinette and watched as Marinette showed off drawings. Of the name that she had pronounced with ease and kanji that she had sketched out just because she felt like it. "You can, Ladybug, I promise to protect you as much as I am able."

A little grin quirked at her lips, and she handed the choker over, "Then, you know the words."

Tying it around her neck, Kagami grinned down at the little dragon kwami (who replied with a little bow and a nod of his own), "Longg, Bring the storm!" The feeling of transformation was something that Kagami hadn't even realized she missed, how the power roared over her like an open flame that warmed but didn't burn. Something powerful and invigorating, making her feel like she could run a marathon and feel nothing but more energy. As it wrapped around her, she focused down on the memory of Marinette's drawing. All of the samurai details and the full helmet mask to better cover her identity. The power redistributed across her body, and soon her vision cleared and she looked at herself.

Just like the drawing, she was covered in armor but it was more movable than she expected. But that was the magic, she supposed, just another feature of being a superhero. Her vision wasn't as restricted by the mask at all, instead she had the same sort of field of view that she always did. "Huh," Her voice was a little soft as she examined her gauntlet covered hands, one hand moving to take the sword out of it's sheathe, "I'm ready when you are, Ladybug."

There was an unreadable expression on Ladybug's face, a little smile that had too many layers to it. Kagami tried to force herself to not read into it, she knew how important secret identities were, and she also had the oddest feeling that she wouldn't like what she found. "Well, you need a name. Ryuuko has been shelved, but you're no longer Ryuuko, are you?"

"No, I'm Shizen no Chikara, Force of Nature." She knew that Ladybug couldn't see her face, couldn't see the giddy little grin on her lips. It was a dangerous game, how similar her outfit was to Marinette's design, and how her name was taken directly from the design. Marinette would know who she was in a second, but that didn't exactly bother Kagami. If anyone could keep a secret, even one of this magnitude.

"Alright, Shizen no Chikara, we have an akuma to fight!" While she still needed to jump and climb everywhere, Ladybug just flew upwards, "I'll need you to use water dragon over it, try to make the sand clump together!"

"On your call, Ladybug!" She shouted out as she jumped up onto the building next to her. The dust storm of an Akuma was still swirling in the center of the street, so Shizen decided to get closer. It was a lot easier this time around, even with the bulky armor it felt easier to bounce across the rooftops until she was staring straight at the akuma. There was something in the center of it, something much too protected by the swirling dust and sand around it for Ladybug's yo-yo to pierce through.

"Chikara, now!" Ladybug shortened her name to just force, but that worked just as well.

Shizen no Chikara jumped across the street, waiting until she was in the apex of her leap before calling out, "Water dragon!" In an instant, she was immaterial and just water. Her form was now affected by gravity, and it all came pouring down and splashing the akuma. The dust and sand were easily caught up inside of her, weighed down as she collapsed the akuma down to the ground. There really was something inside of it, a strange little glowing thing that Ladybug picked up (out of her water which felt so incredibly weird and wrong) and smashed. Shizen was just barely recovering back into a human form as the butterfly was purified.

"Ladybug!" She said, moving a little forward to touch her arm, "You're on a timer, I'm not. I'll wait on the roof for you while you recharge," The two shared a nod and then Shizen focused on the akuma victim. She wasn't the best at comforting people, she knew her limitations and how she often came off as cold no matter how hard she tried. But sometimes people just need a listening ear, and she could be that at least.

The issue came was when the cameras came and they were asking her all sorts of questions that she couldn't answer.

"Are you the new permanent holder of the miraculous?"

"What are you feelings on Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"How close are you to finding Hawkmoth?"

"What's your name?" Oh, well that was one that she could answer.

"I am Shizen no Chikara, I'm unsure at the moment of how permanent I will be as a hero and if this is just a one off I am glad to have had a chance to fight alongside Ladybug. As for the other questions I am not in possession of that information." She was a bit thankful for the fact that her mask further disguised her voice, making it sound almost booming as it echoed inside of the metal. She could see Ladybug up on the rooftop and she gave a sharp nod towards the crowds, "I must be off." And with one super powered jump, she propelled herself up onto the rooftop.

"Thank you for your help, again, I've trusted you with so much and every time you've impressed me, Kagami," It was high praise from a superhero, and Kagami couldn't stop the flush on her cheeks. "Now, to undo your transformation, it's Longg, Clear the skies."

"I- Ladybug before I detransform, I have a question," The words were almost rushed out of her mouth, a little anxious but she hadn't worked this hard to stop now. "Are there other powerful things in the world other than the miraculous? Like other artifacts of magical power that don't particularly give the wearer the ability to transform into a superhero?"

Ladybug paused, head slightly tilted with insectoid eyes half lidded, before a little smile grew on her lips. Her hand raised to splay across her collarbones, where there was a little irregularity in the spot pattern, "Of course there is. The miraculous were made by people after all, but don't worry. If there was anything actually malevolent in this city, I would know and I would take care of. You don't have to worry about it, Tsurugi."

The words were comforting, but they seemed chosen to do that. Kagami couldn't shake the oddest feeling that there was more puzzle pieces that she couldn't see. Something that stopped her from ever figuring out the actual puzzle, even what the picture was. It wasn't like Ladybug was exactly lying, but there were too many tones in her voice that Kagami couldn't decipher yet. Maybe she'd never be able to decipher and the mystery would plague her to her dying day. Probably not, but maybe. "I...see, thank you Ladybug, for the chance to fight alongside you again." Kagami gave another glance around, making sure that she was hidden enough that her transformation wouldn't be caught by anyone. "Longg, clear skies."

The magic leaving her gave her the same sort of rush as powering up, but it was bittersweet as she knew she might never feel it again, and she unhooked the choker to give it to Ladybug, "I know it might seem a little suspicious, but I was wondering if I could help you down? I'd hate for you to be stuck up on this building just because I asked you to be a hero."

"That sounds perfectly fine, I'd say take me to my home but I left my bike down there-" Kagami cut herself off in surprise as Ladybug effortlessly swept her up into a princess carry, her face bright red and mouth slightly agape as the hero flew her down to the ground and settled here there.

"There we go! Nice and easy," Ladybug grinned down at her, before looking at the time on her yo-yo, "Oh- oh dangit I'm late! Thank you so much for your help!" She gave a last little wave before her wings spread and she started fly away. Kagami left there staring in admiration before she checked her phone.

"Oh god- the Lourve!" She gasped out as she saw the time, rushing out of the alleyway and grabbing her bike. Getting back home first, the Louvre was much too far away to bicycle there, she quickly moved into Tatso. The address for the Louvre was already pre-set, and once it sensed that Kagami was inside it began to drive her to the Louvre. It wasn't too late, at least not late enough to just send out a text that she couldn't make it. Just a few minutes, and Marinette had just texted that she was going to be a tad bit late because of the akuma attack.

A little odd, since she lived on the other side, but whatever. Maybe she was traveling, maybe there was something with her parents, maybe the akuma came from further down. There were a lot of excuses that didn't mean the theory in her mind was true. There was a lot of reasoning that her idea was wrong and she stuck to that as she was driven to the Louvre. Waiting outside the glass pyramid, Mireille and Aurore were already there and talking among themselves. 

As she got out of the car, Kagami waved at them to catch their attention, "Hello!" Her voice carried rather well, and she wondered if the energy from the transformation went to her as well. Her stride was long and slow as she came up to them, "I'm not too late, right?"

"Oh, absolutely not, Storm cloud!" Aurore assured with a grin on her face, fidgeting with the handle of her parasol, "You told us you were going to be late and we just wanted to all go in together so we waited out here! Sunny skies and no storm clouds means that it's a very nice day to do so!" She looked Kagami up and down, a little purse to her lips as she reached out to brush some dust out of Kagami's hair, "Did you get caught up in that sandstorm akuma?"

"Oh, yes, I did. It was very close by my house and I was on a walk, rather nasty akuma wasn't it?" That wasn't without some sort of pity, of course, as Shizen no Chikara she had talked with the victim and learned the story behind it.

"Rather destructive," Mireille piped up, smiling slightly at Kagami, "I can't imagine what sort of horrors the person went through, sometimes I really wish that I could just punch Papillion right in the face." It was a weird (but not rare) sentiment to hear from the soft spoken girl. 

Aurore let out a little indulgent laugh and knocked her shoulder up against hers, "If I had the means, sunflower, I would take you right to his lair and let you get at him."

Kagami normally enjoyed seeing the amount of love that the two shared, but today was different. Today, all it spurned was an ugly feeling in Kagami's stomach. An ugly jealous feeling that she just wanted to squash down. She wanted that with Marinette, and the time had come for her to finally act upon it. Marinette was coming into herself, coming into her role and blooming like a flower and Kagami loved her all the more for it. She gave her some time, time that was needed after everything she went through. But it's time to stop being hesitant, it's time to stop waiting for Marinette to tell her that she was ready.

In the span of a polite conversation about the last project before the break, Marinette sprinted up. Almost leaping across the small pillars out from, Marinette grinned as she slipped to a stop in front of them, "Hi! Hi!" For someone who just bolted across the street, Marinette wasn't even panting. She seemed more than fine as she stretched out, cracking her back. "We should go in, right? The line's going to be getting long!"

They glanced at each other, just barely having a conversation with their eyes and they all nodded. Kagami smiled at Marinette, "You're right, let's go in." As the group walked as one, they unintentionally (or maybe intentionally if that really was a smirk on Aurore's face) split off into pairs. Marinette reached down to hold Kagami's hand, gently squeezing it a bit as she swung their hands.

"I'm really glad I could make it, Kishi, with the akuma attack I was worried both of us would get sidetracked and the weather girls over there would have to just have a date," Marinette laughed a little as she squeezed her hand. "And- of course I'm also really happy that you weren't hurt in the attack. I know the ladybugs fix everything but, the hurt stays, doesn't it?"

Kagami nodded her head, smiling slightly as she squeezed her hand back, "It does, but don't worry. I stayed very safe for the entire thing, I'm just glad Ladybug saved the day like she always does."

Marinette's grin was a little teasing and she knocked against her, "I also was watching the news, Kishi," Her voice was a little soft and Kagami felt ice water travel down her spine. She knew, Marinette knew, and Kagami was so painfully aware of exactly how much danger that put her in. "Did you see the new Dragon hero? She was...so beautiful. Really a force of nature, huh?" There was a glint of mischief in her eyes Kagami choked on air.

"I- uh yes I agree. The Dragon Miraculous hasn't been used often, but seeing it in use really was a sight to behold. I'm glad that Ladybug isn't letting Miracle Queen get her down, and that she's still looking for replacements for the temporary heroes. With how often Chat's been skipping out on battles, I feel like Ladybug needs all the help that she can get. Sure, it was fine a year ago when it was just her and Chat, but now that Papillion has proven himself to be a real danger and I don't know how much longer she can do this on her own. Not that she should be expected to do it on her own, of course." Even though Kagami knew that Marinette knew, she couldn't let her know that. That sort of lack of care about her identity was going to get her in trouble, would make Ladybug never trust her again if it got out.

Marinette paused, but slowly nodded her head, "Right, yeah I absolutely agree. With how decimated the crew was after that fiasco, I'm glad that's she's outsourcing. Really, having weight of the entire country, maybe the entire world on her shoulders must get tiring. I'm glad that Shizen no Chikara was there for her."

"So am I, and it's also wonderful to be able to see more powers in action. It's fascinating, isn't it? Just how much magic there is in this world?" Kagami couldn't help as her eyes dropped down to stare at the necklace. It was above Marinette's shirt this time, and as they moved down the queue she could see the glow around it. Maybe it was because of her recent stint as a hero, maybe the miraculous gave her vision of magic. A little field of the influence that artifacts have because now the glow was bright enough to shine on Marinette's jawline (but no one else saw it, why was Kagami the only one seeing it). It was definitely something to ask Ladybug further about, considering how worrying it was to her.

"So, which area are we going to today? We just finished up with the Egypt exhibit and I was wondering if we could check out the Greek and Roman exhibits today? I don't know what Mireille and Aurore have planned but it's not like we have to stick together!" She was bright and shining even without the glowing necklace, and Kagami knew that she loved her. That this is what love was.

Love wasn't the passion that she felt for Adrien, the idea of a rich, well mannered boy with well connected parents that her mother would enjoy. Something that could make her family proud and someone who she could trick herself into loving. What she felt for Marinette wasn't that. There was no desperation for what might please her mother, there wasn't any consideration of connections or furthering the family name. There was just enjoying her presence, just enjoying the time that they had together for the fact that they were spending it together. 

It was warm, something lasting like a campfire instead of the raging desperation of passion that she tried to let herself feel for Adrien. It wasn't something that was going to burn out in seconds when it overtook something too fast, it was a steady source of heat and warmth as they both kept feeding it.

"I would love to see what the Greek and Egyptian exhibit has with you, Mari-hime," She smiled at her, and it felt like sunshine on her face when Marinette smiled at her. Being a hero was fantastic, powerful and invigorating and it added some sort of meaning to her life more than just being a Tsurugi and more than just being a person. But, and she knew this for a fact, she wouldn't ever pick up another artifact if it meant that Marinette was going to get hurt.

No Ryuuko, no Shizen no Chikara, nothing. Not if it came at the cost of her dearest friend and warmest flame.

Within a few minutes, they were past security and inside the Louvre. Mireille and Aurore had texted when they had gotten in, saying that the two could go off on their own because they wanted to stare at the statues. Marinette was different inside, maybe it was the light pouring down and refracted on the ground from the glass pyramid, but there was something different.

She was graceful, even when people sped past her and she would've (she used to) trip over herself and need Kagami to catch her and steady her. It was a little bit like dancing, how Marinette effortlessly avoided the crowds, and for the beauty that it was something about it felt wrong. Like when you tap a glass with a tuning fork, all the vibrations that you can't hear but you can feel. Something that was disrupted and out of the ordinary, even as Kagami tried to follow in her footsteps there was something otherworldly about how Marinette did it.

"Coming, Kishi?" Her voice was light and laughing as she turned around, shifting easily to let people past around her. It was like she was moving through water, and Kagami could see the little glow of the necklace even from where she was. 

"Yeah, I'm coming," The more that Marinette seemed to change, the more Kagami started to doubt Ladybug's words. There was an entire city for her to look over after all, and Kagami can't really blame her for overlooking one small necklace. But she could, because it was Marinette. At least she was still safe, at least a little bit, and Kagami didn't know enough about magic to say for sure.

Her lack of knowledge on what was going on with her very dear friend was starting to grate on her, making her want to delve into mysticism to try to figure out exactly what was wrong with her. There _was_ something wrong after all, Kagami knew that something important had changed in Marinette. Whether it was a good change or not was still up to guess, 

"Hey, Kishi?" Marinette's voice broke her out of her thoughts and as Kagami focused she realized that she was posing in front of a statue, "Can you take my picture?"

Kagami grinned slightly, a crooked little smile as she held up her phone. She took the picture, but as she scrolled through the past pictures she noticed that there was a steady trend. Marinette's eyes got darker and darker (color only, her eyes were as cheerful as always) up until the point that they were dark dark grey. Something was wrong, and Kagami was terrified of what was coming for her.


	15. Chapter 15

It had been a while since she had gone on a duo patrol with Chat, but she was almost looking forward to it in a strange way. 

"I just...I really don't like how Chat's been acting, Tikki," Marinette frowned at her kwami, not because she was upset with her but because it was just so rage inducing to think about. How Chat left her alone and pouted because his 'job' was becoming less fun, and how he often dawdled on her rooftop during his patrols to see if he could silently guilt her into talking to him.

"Well, I know that he's been really not acting like a hero recently," Tikki frowned as she thought about Plagg's chosen (chosen being used in it's loosest sense, Adrien was simply convienient and Fu didn't want to try any harder to give her chosen a proper partner). "But I'm really proud of you, you know? I know I've been really busy with making sure that someone-" It was obvious who she was talking about because she glared straight at Trixx- "Didn't start playing tricks on everyone nearby."

All Trixx replied with was a loud cackle that echoed in the room, all high and almost screaming. But that was a common occurrence ever since Marinette started leaving the miracle box open. The miracle box had also changed shape since she started growing into herself as the guardian, instead of that strange little Ladybug patterned egg it was now a lotus blossom. Normally it was closed, but whenever Marinette was about to go out on patrol she opened it up. Each miraculous got it's own petal, and it curled up when it wasn't being used.

"I know and it's okay, I mean you're really doing me a favor here! I'm balancing so many things right now and you dealing with the kwami is just another thing that I don't have to worry about," Marinette grinned as she leaned to press a very small kiss to Tikki's head, "With your and Tiye's help, I feel like I could take on Papillion right now!" She laughed as she struck a joking power pose.

Tikki fiddled with her paws, moving to perch on her shoulder, "I know that Tiye's all about balance, but do you think she's talking it a bit far? Like, yeah your classmates have been pretty bad, but are they really as bad as she's saying?"

Her shoulders slumped slightly, worrying her bottom lip, "You weren't- Tikki you weren't here for the other years. Before Alya and before you really- I was bullied. Openly and clearly in front of- in front of the entire class, and the teachers. And no one did anything. No one wanted to make her mad but further than that, they didn't even try to see if I was okay afterwards. No matter if she pushed me down or ruined my notes or made fun of me for being a baker's daughter." Marinette sniffed slightly, reliving all the painful memories of just how cutting Chloe could get.

Tikki paused at that, a little frown on her little mouth, "I know that, but I'm also worried about the change Tiye is having on you..."

"What do you mean change? All I'm doing is not taking anything on than what I can manage, and it's working great for me! I've been working on my actually paid commissions, I've been spending time with actual friends. Kagami and I are...closer than ever..." She trailed off, a little soft over how much she loved the other girl. "It's really been working out!"

"I...can see that," Tikki said, a little hesitantly as she stared at the necklace. The glow seemed brighter from the last time that she had checked on it, and she was starting to regret being so absent. Sure, the miracle box needed a leader and Marinette just wasn't in the place to be that leader and so the role fell to Tikki, but she had been much too busy. Even if Tiye could keep her safe during the day, allowing Tikki to have a constant line to the miracle box and not having to focus that hard on Marinette, it wasn't worth the influence that Tiye now had over her holder. "But I think-"

"Guardian," Tiye interrupted Tikki without a care, appearing in front of Marinette to better distract her, "It's getting a little late, isn't it? You should transform and head to the spot, that way you can make sure that Chat's actually going to show up. After all, we still have homework to do tonight, and if Chat's not on time, we shouldn't waste any time on him." The use of the plural pronoun didn't go unnoticed by Tikki.

"Oh! You're right, Tiye, thanks for reminding me," Marinette smiled at the spirit before climbing up onto the roof. Behind her, Tikki opened her mouth to say something but Tiye's hand covered her lips with a hand. Whether it was a power or just shock, Tikki couldn't interrupt as Marinette called out, "Tikki, Spots on!" The transformation washing over her and leaving her in her new suit, all armored and protected. Tiye's necklace hung around her neck and she hummed, "Tiye, you can still talk to me if I put you in the yo-yo?"

"Why would you want to take me off, Guardian?" Tiye's lips pursed into a little pout, arms crossed over her chest.

"It's not that I want to take you off! But I know that I've been seen wearing your necklace as Marinette and I don't want to risk Chat seeing me with it on and drawing the conclusion. He's already made hints to me as Marinette that he knows me in civilian form but...I just can't risk it."

Tiye nodded her head, "Put me in the yo-yo, Guardian, it'll be just fine." In another bright flash, she disappeared into the yo-yo as Ladybug dropped the necklace into it. 

A cursory glance around, just to make sure that no one was going to see Ladybug jumping off of a teenager's rooftop, and Ladybug took off. Flying towards the top of the Eiffel Tower to wait for Chat, hoping that for once he'll actually show up. Ladybug kicked her legs on the edge, balancing perfectly on the railing without worrying that she was about to fall backwards. She was so much more than human now, so much more than just simply mortal. She was perfectly balanced, as all things should be, and she was exceptional in her Ladybug form. Never having to worry about falling or miss-stepping whenever she wasn't looking where she was going, never having to worry that she was about to trip up and make a mistake. There was only cold surety, the balance of a truly perfect individual.

"M'lady!" Chat's voice was a purr that grated on her ears as he slipped to lean on the rail right next to him, "I'm so glad I caught you because I have so much to talk to you about." He made a little purr as he popped his joints. "I've really be annoyed with you recently and-"

"You've...been annoyed with me?" Ladybug's voice was hard and backed by layers of chitters and clicks. Sure, she didn't have anything that could make those noises, but they were made anyway. She turned to stare down at him, a little glare in her eyes as she narrowed her eyes down at him, "You're annoyed with me?"

"Well, yeah. I mean not only do you have all of these upgrades without even thinking of giving me a few, but you also brought in another temporary hero! I thought it was fine just you and me after the Miracle Queen incident! Isn't that what we learned from it?"

"That's what you learned from the Miracle Queen, Chat? Just that we don't need temporary heroes? I've been racking my brains how to get more help for the fight every single day and you've just been willing to be complacent?" Her voice was little more than a hiss as her insect wings unfurled out. "You have to be kidding me!"

"Look, we don't need any other heroes! We've been doing just fine on our own! Besides, imagine how upset Kagami must feel that she's been replaced, what if she gets akumatized?"

"Have more faith in who I've chosen as temporary heroes, Kagami is a strong girl, she wouldn't get akumatized over being replaced when we told her that we'd be replacing her." There was a little flutter of her insect wings, "Now, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." And it wasn't, she hadn't even considered the temporary heroes being brought up, but that was because Chat hadn't even been showing up for the battles. That was what she wanted to talk to him about, that and also the fact that he kept annoying her in civilian form.

"Oh!" Chat perked up, ears sticking straight up, "Are you finally going to help me unlock new powers? Because really, it's like you don't even need me anymore!"

She didn't, but that didn't mean she should fight alone. Even if she could do everything on her own, that didn't mean that she should. Leaning on others was healthy...right? Or maybe she just needed to fight smarter, even if she was alone in her battle. Maybe Kagami would be the exception, she could handle leaning on just _one person right? She could do everything but watch her own back, and Kagami could do that for her. Kagami could protect her weak points and she could finish up everything else. After all, maybe Chat was the one holding her back all this time._

"No, actually. That's not something I can do, that's something you have to do on your own. I unlocked this suit and my new abilities by being a good superhero, and exemplifying what my miraculous stands for. It's not something that you're given, Chat Noir, it's something that you earn," Her tone was just a little harsh, a little angrier but could you blame her? She had been worked to the bone over and over again and out of the costume she had seen how unheroic he had been.

"But I've earned it! I've done everything you have and in some cases, I think I've done it better! So where are my powers?" He scowled, arms crossing over his chest as he glared at her.

"Oh, have you earned it? I wasn't aware that constantly bothering a civilian while transformed was something heroic."

Chat spluttered, hissing like a cat that had just gotten water flicked onto him, "W- How do you know about that!"

"You didn't even bother to deny it, and for your information I also talk to Mlle Dupain-Cheng. Not on the...basis that you do, but still we talk. She was a good miraculous holder during the time that she was, and I'm sure you can imagine my anger to hear that you have been showing up at her house and trying to convince her to get bullied."

"But she could be causing akumatizations! She's been really mean to our classmates!" Chat protested, and the word choice was too familiar. The puzzle pieces were falling into place, but she didn't want to see the picture that they made. "Aren't we supposed to be working on stopping akumatizations before they happen?"

"It is not the victim's fault if someone gets angry at them to the point of akumatizations. It's not her fault if someone who wants her to be controlled by them gets akumatized because she won't obey them anymore. That's victim blaming and it's sick. Chat, you are a hero and even if that was it's the case, it is not your responsibility to loiter on her property to try to make her talk to you. It is not your responsibility to try to make her do what you want, that's an abuse of your power."

"No it isn't! I just want my friend to come back to our friend group! She ruined the classroom and now everything's falling apart!"

"Why are you depending on a single person to keep a classroom together? Why do you insist on putting that much weight on her shoulders and say that it's her fault if she wants to get out of that." The puzzle pieces were hard to ignore, and her eyes started to finally focus. Focus on the blond hair and the weight and the height and everything that drew together the one conclusion. The one conclusion that she didn't want to find out.

"Because it's what she's always done!"

"Chat Noir!" Her voice was a little bit booming, and she stood up on the railing. Perfectly balanced like she always was as she glared down at him, "You are victim blaming and emotionally terrorizing a civilian, what if she was akumatized because of you? With your thought process, then you would be no better than Chloe!"

"But she wouldn't be akumatized, Marinette is far too strong for that!"

"No one can be strong forever, no one can keep all of their emotions pushed that far down and the fact that you expect her to be a perfect robot is disgusting. Not to mention the fact that you've revealed your identity through your careless comments, Adrien Agreste." She dropped down to the landing, staring him almost in the eye (no matter how intimidating her superhero form was, she still was short).

Chat blanched, face going pale as he stumbled a step back, "H-how did you guess that?"

"It was easy, your words were far to familiar to what Marinette sobbed about being told in school," It was easy to lie here, but Marinette knew that she was better off telling some of the truth. She hadn't sobbed about it to herself, but she had sobbed about it to Tikki and later, Tiye. "You are unworthy of holding the black cat miraculous."

"No! You don't understand! This is my only escape from my boring life, you can't take this from me!" He almost yowled out as he moved back, hopping up onto the railing and crouching.

"You are not worthy! You have terrorized Marinette Dupain-Cheng in and out of the suit for far too long, and I will not allow you to continue it," Ladybug reached out, taking the time to reach out towards him, "I know that your home life is bad, I don't know the specifics but I know enough, but you can't just escape away from it. There are other options, like therapy. I think you need therapy, not magic." Her hand started to glow a strange sort of red and brown, with some shots of blue, "Adrien Agreste, you have proven yourself unworthy of holding the Miraculous of the Black Cat. There is no permanence to this punishment, you will not lose your memories, but you will not be able to hold any miraculous until you've done reflection on your actions. You know the consequences of revealing you were a holder, and I am trusting you enough to know that you won't tell people."

She didn't want anything too permanent, Adrien had some things going on with him and he didn't deserve to never be able to talk about what he happened. He just needed to reflect upon himself. But her thoughts paused just in time for her to reach out and grab the ring from as it fell from the now detransformed Adrien. "I can take you home, I don't want you stuck up here."

Adrien seemed to be in shock, not that she could blame him, but he still nodded his head a little. Wordlessly, of course, but it was enough for Ladybug to sweep him up into her arms and fly away into the night. The trip to the Agreste mansion was silent, but as she slipped inside of the room, Adrien spoke, "Can I- Can I say goodbye to Plagg?" 

She thought for a second, chewing on her bottom lip before setting him down and letting him slip the ring back on. Ladybug wasn't rude, she turned around and moved to the window. Her senses could pick up the distant noise of Adrien blubbering towards Plagg, but she didn't let herself focus any harder on it. She focused on the skyline, on all the stars in the sky and just how alive the city was, even during night. She must have zoned out as well because it only felt like seconds until Adrien tapped on her shoulder.

His eyes were shining and wet, a little bit of glare on the tear tracks on his face as he handed back the ring, "Thanks for...letting me say goodbye, Ladybug..." He paused, wrapping his arms over his chest and Ladybug just felt sad for him. She just felt sad that it had come to this, but just because she felt bad doesn't negate what he's done. It didn't negate the victim blaming or the harassment, but that didn't mean she was pitiless.

"Thank you for your work helping me against Papillion," Was all that she said before flying out of his room. Not looking back, she knew that she couldn't look back without feeling too guilty. She kept looking forward even as she landed on her balcony, only pausing to take out the necklace before detransforming. 

"Oh- Marinette," Tikki's voice was soft and sweet as she nuzzled up against her cheek, "You made the right choice, you know. He wasn't helping you at all, not in or out of the suit, and that's what's most important. Black cats are supposed to protect their ladybugs when they need it most."

"Which is why I think that we should keep the ring in circulation," Tiye grinned, bouncing slightly as she leaned up against the small table, "That way you can have a proper partner in your suit!"

Tikki frowned a little, "I don't know about that, it could do Marinette some good to not have the ring in circulation."

Tiye frowned at that, moving to Marinette's other side and wrapping her arms around hers, "Wouldn't that be wonderful though? Having Kagami, safer of course because now Papillion won't be specifically looking for her negative emotions thanks to the new dragon hero, still by your side? You said once that she'd make a great cat hero, like you had the whole costume designed and everything! Then you can call her that cute little nickname in the costume as well!" Tiye grinned, reaching across to toy with her own necklace around Marinette's neck. "Wouldn't you like that?"

"I...well Kagami already fits the dragon so well! Right? Like it's not like she's a bad fit for that, yeah?" Marinette didn't sound sure of herself, and the further that she thought about it the more appealing giving Kagami the ring sounded. Sure, Adrien didn't fit it well, but maybe Kagami would fit it better. They worked together well in everything they do, whether as Kagami and Marinette or as Ladybug and Ryuuko (or Shizen no Chikara). Whether in fencing or defeating akumas, they were balanced in a way that she wasn't with Chat.

"Wouldn't it be nice to have someone to love all of you?" Tiye's voice was sweet and calm in her ear, and Marinette found herself nodding along. The main reason she kept rejecting Chat Noir was because she felt like he never saw through the mask (and considering how little Adrien seemed to be interested in her, maybe she was right), but Kagami didn't have that problem. Kagami seemed to love her as Marinette, even without any knowledge of Ladybug. "Wouldn't it be nice to finally have a superhero partner that would help you?"

"Tiye-" Tikki started, sounding really angry, but Marinette raised her hand to cut her off.

"I think...I need more time to think about it," She didn't. She _knew in her heart that Kagami was the best suited for her, both for the miraculous itself as well as being a partner. She knew that Tiye was right_. She moved, gracefully even though she felt like she was out of her body, downstairs into her bedroom. The necklace was glowing and she could see that, but it didn't bother her. Magic glowed, this was just that magic glowing.

"Marinette, I really do think you need to think on this," Tikki worried a piece of thread in between her paws as she sat on her makeshift bed on the shelf, "Giving out a miraculous, especially one in the inner circle, isn't something to be taken lightly."

"She's not taking it lightly, Tikki, she's thinking through it. If Kagami is worthy of being given the dragon even after her identity was revealed, I think Marinette can decide if she deserves the cat. Or are you saying you don't think that Kagami's worthy of holding a miraculous?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Tikki protested from her spot, now openly glaring at Tiye, "I'm just saying that maybe Marinette shouldn't rush into giving her the miraculous. Kagami would be a nice fit for the black cat miraculous, but Marinette needs time."

Marinette could barely pay attention to the conversation going on above her head, everything getting processed was just a little too muddled for her to decipher it. Everything was tiring now, the weight of the day hitting her like a truck to her chest as she curled up in bed. Laying on her side as she slowly let herself get lulled to sleep by Tiye's magic, tomorrow was another day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The day that you've all been waiting for: Chat gets his miraculous stolen! And a few more hints at what's to come.
> 
> I'm rather exhausted as a baseline now, so sorry for the late update but hey! At least it's still 2 a day. Depending on my state tomorrow, I might shift to having only one a day uploads, just so I can make it GOOD. And then it might take longer but at least you guys will get something good! Can't promise 2, but I can promise at least 1


	16. Chapter 16

There was the same sort of bad feeling in Kagami's stomach like there was on the day she became Shizen no Chikara. Maybe there would be another akuma attack today, maybe she would be needed. But it was getting concerning, everything that was going on. All of the strange ways that Marinette moved, how sometimes she was way too graceful for someone who could trip over air. Sure, some people could be graceful, but Marinette wasn't one of them. She could be rather wonderful when she got out of her own head, but that didn't mean that she should effortlessly glide over the floor like a ballerina, not when just months prior she was stumbling when she ran.

  
Kagami tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, somehow missing the feeling of a choker around her neck even though she hadn't been wearing it for long. But it was fine, Ladybug trusted her and knew that she could trusted with powerful magic. Either way, moping around and staring at her reflection wasn't going to fix that. Missing school wasn't going to magically summon Ladybug with the miraculous, and it would just make her miss class with Marinette.

  
The air was also different as she approached the school, something anticipatory and tense in equal measures and Kagami wasn't sure if she should be scared or excited. Marinette seemed to be the latter though as she rushed up to the car, "Kishi-kishi-kishi!" Her voice was rushed and sing-song as she almost dragged the other out of the car, "It's happening, it's really happening!" Ever since she had noticed the darkening eyes, it had been unmistakable. Marinette's eyes were nearing pure black, and scarily reminiscent of Ladybug's.

"What?" Kagami's reply was incredibly eloquent as she stumbled after Marinette, the other pulling her into the school and right up the stairs. "What's going on?"

Marinette paused, like she hadn't even considered that Kagami might not know, "Oh! It's Jagged Stone's interview!" There was an almost manic glee in her dark eyes, and Kagami still found her beautiful, but there was something else there. Something besides the beauty, something that probably had something to do with the necklace but Kagami just didn't have all of the pieces for it yet. "I...may or may not have told him about Lila and her claims which easily could've been considered illegal considering that she claimed that he, a thirty year old man, wrote a song for her, a fifteen year old girl."

She nodded her head, "I can see why something like that would worry you, I'm glad that this is the way that her tower of lies are going to crumble." Another little nod of her head to affirm it to herself and Marinette put the phone in between them.

She had to sidle rather close, to the point of loosely wrapping her arm around Kagami's waist to better hold the phone. It was warm and loving and Kagami felt her face warm even as she focused on the phone screen. Playing was a recording of the famous Jagged Stone (not that Kagami knew a lot about him, that really wasn't her style of music but she knew him as much as Marinette talked about him) sitting on a Face-2-Face set.  
Casual as ever, in a suit for once (she knew that suit jacket, knew that stitching well enough for it to be Marinette's), he rested on the couch with his head cupped in his hand, "Y'see, I don't really get why so many people on Twitter are asking me if I've ever owned a cat! It's a stupid question because I've never owned one, I've had Fang for the past fifteen years and I really can't own another pet with him." A loud, brassy laugh and then he continued, "But that's not what you're here for, right?"

"No, sir, we're all dying to know just who designed your jacket! The threadwork was beautiful, I almost wish I had a copy of my own to wear around the house!" The host, a beautiful woman with long curling hair that fluffed around her like a cloud, cackled out as she leaned over the desk. Getting just a little into Jagged's personal space as she angled the microphone (that Kagami was sure was just decorative) towards him.

Whether or not it was real or not, didn't seem to matter to Jagged as he took the microphone and stared into the camera, "This jacket, like almost all of my others as well as my album covers and my rocking f-" He paused, stopping himself from swearing on daytime television before continuing- "Eiffel Tower sunglasses. Now, I know those were made a while ago, but it's just really now that I've gotten the chance to really promo this gal's work. My jacket and the album cover for the recent 'Rock in the New Year' album were both designed by Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of the owners of the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie here in Paris and also my honorary niece. I say honorary but really the only stopping her from being my actual niece is the fact I haven't found a way to adopt Tom as a brother yet!" That got a few laughs from whatever studio audience they had.

"That's fantastic! Does this adopted niece of you have any sort of place where hopeful commissioners could look for a place to get a jacket just like yours?" The host unsuccessfully tried to take the microphone back from Jagged.  
"Actually, she does! MDCreates.com. I can't promise you'll get something as special as this because I of course am her favorite- don't listen to whatever Clara says- but you're guaranteed to get something just as personalized. Marinette is a fantastic worker and she always keeps you updated on the progress of how your work is coming and she's very upfront with whatever sorts of delays she might have. She's just a lycée student after all, and if I hear any of you are giving her a hard time about not being able to do everything you want on your timeline, you'll have to talk to fang," He grinned wider, reaching down to pet at the crocodile curled around his feet.

"You seem to hold her in high regard!" The host got out, but as she checked her list of questions, Jagged took control of the interview again.

"Oh absolutely! I'm so proud of that little rocker, I might make her the third person to ever get a song written about her. The first two spots going to my wife and assistant, Penny, and Ladybug herself-"

The video cut off, and Marinette moved away from Kagami for the sole purpose of doing her silly happy dance (how long had it been since she had seen that?). "Yes!" She laughed out as she bounced where she stood, "Yes!"

"I'm sorry, I don't really understand?" Kagami knew that Marinette was happy, and she knew that Jagged's endorsement was probably going to boost her business, but there was something else that she was happy about.

"She's going down!" Her voice was a high whisper, eyes bright and reflective, "Lila's been lying about Jagged having a cat, and the song thing, and the fact that she knows his designer but he just said on a live recording that I'm his only designer!" Marinette spun in a circle and laughed, before grabbing Kagami's hand and dragging her to Mme Bustier's classroom.

The class was almost a riot, yelling and holding up phones and so many different arguments going on at once. Mylene was sobbing into Ivan's chest who was glaring at Lila who was smirking at Adrien who was desperately trying to keep the peace which was being disrupted by Alix screaming at Kim. It was a little much, a little overwhelming but Marinette was just grinning, so very vindicated by what had happened.

"Marinette!" Alya spoke up, her eyes wet with tears as she wiped at her face, "You were right!" It seemed that she was the first and only one to notice Marinette and Kagami standing there. Moving away from her computer, she approached them, a little tentatively, "I'm sorry."

Kagami was a little shocked, at the fact that Alya (a normally strong willed and hard headed girl) apologized right away. Though, that could be because Kagami didn't exactly know her that well. She had never really interacted with the class aside from Marinette and Adrien, so all that she knew about the class was what Marinette had talked about when she was breaking down over their bullying. So maybe Lila had more of an effect on the class than she expected.  
Marinette was unmoved, lips slightly pursed as she tilted her head at Alya, "And?"

Alya paused at that, a little frown on her lips because her eyes went wide, "Oh- Oh! I'm not saying that you have to forgive me! I know that what I did was so cruel and mean and brushing off your concerns as just being boy crazy was completely horrible. I just- I'm sorry for not trusting you, Marinette, and I've deleted all of Lila's interviews off of the Ladyblog...honestly I can't even remember why I posted them there in the first place." She scratched at the back of her neck, glancing away as she chewed on her lower lip, "But, I'm sorry for what I did."

"Good!" Marinette chirped out, and that got strange looks from both Kagami and Alya. It was out of character, that was sure, and Kagami felt it had something to do with the glittering black eyes (was she the only one who noticed them? Why wasn't Alya asking about it) and the glowing necklace. Her attitude was painfully happy, and she reached to grab Kagami's hand, "Have fun with Lila!" Her voice was a little sing-song as she started to pull Kagami towards Mendeleiev's class.

There was something wrong here and it caused a sick twisting feeling in her gut, "Mari-hime, don't you think that was a bit harsh? I mean, I'm not saying you have to forgive her, you know I'd never ask something like that from you. But Alya did apologize, and she seemed rather regretful." Her words were a bit more hesitant than they would normally be, but something about Marinette was putting her off. There was something wrong about her, like there was something else in everything that Marinette said.

"Not at all, they were unfair first. Eye for an eye, right?" She asked, but was soon swept away by the class and into another conversation.

Kagami was left to finish the saying on her own, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

There was another akuma attack during lunch, which ruined Kagami's plan to find out more on the necklace. But, in every bad hand there are some gems, such as being carried in Ladybug's arms away from the battle. Shizen no Chikara wasn't needed, but Kagami still found herself near danger. As she was spirited away, she was close enough to Ladybug to see that she had a necklace on over her suit. It was the same necklace as Marinette's and she was almost frozen as Ladybug shut her in a closet to protect her.

Kagami leaned up against the wall of the closet, hands running through her short hair as she tried to grapple with the information she had just recieved. Marinette and Ladybug are the same person, which meant that Marinette trusted her with a miraculous twice. Which meant that Ladybug was slowly becoming stranger and stranger. Which meant that she was in love with Marinette who was Ladybug who may or may not love her back. The necklace that she asked Marinette as Ladybug about, she never got a straight answer because Ladybug knew that Kagami was talking about her own necklace.

Slowly, she slid down the wall until she was sitting with her head in her hands. There went her main plan of alerting Ladybug to the changes happening to Marinette, there was no way that Ladybug would ever try to figure out the necklace when it was her that it was affecting. So that meant that she was probably on her own, Chat Noir (he didn't even show up at all this battle) wasn't going to be any help either. She couldn't trust the cat themed hero any further than she could throw him (out of being transformed, of course), especially not when it came to Marinette.

It was only once the sounds of battle stopped outside of the closet that Kagami figured it was safe enough to leave. She pushed the door open almost at the same time as Marinette opened it, but Marinette didn't even stumble. She danced out of the way of the door opening and smiled at her, "Oh! Thank god you're here! I saw Ladybug-" She lied easily, but maybe that was out of practice. Kagami had no clue how she hadn't figured it out earlier, they looked so similar. The same hair, the same pigtails, the same stance and the same sort of powerful stance. Bright eyes and brighter smiles and a change that was unnoticeable unless you were looking at it.

"I know-" The words were rushed out and their effect on Marinette was immediate. Her face paled and her eyes went large and round (insect like, all black and glittering and round)- "You don't have to lie to me, I know." She didn't want to tell her that she knew, she didn't want to reveal just how vulnerable the two of them had become to the other, but she had to. It was unfair otherwise and at least she knew they could protect each other. Even if Marinette would know her identity from the give away from Shizen no Chikara's design, she already knew from being Ladybug. Trying to combine the two in her mind was a tougher task than she thought it would be.

"Tch, what? Me- Ladybug?" Marinette stumbled over her words and for a second Kagami was reminded of just how different she had become. Sure, the confidence was wonderful and Marinette was just as beautiful as she was before but now she was different.

"Marinette, I didn't even mention Ladybug. All I said was I know," Kagami's voice was soft and just a little trembling (not what she should sound like, she was a Tsurugi). Her hands shook slightly as she squeezed them into fists. "I should've known a while ago, especially when-"

"-No it's fine, just!" There was a bit of manic glee in her voice as she pulled her back in front of her, rummaging around in it, "Tikki told me not to do this- oh right you probably don't know who Tikki is, she's the Ladybug kwami- but I just think it'd help me out a lot!" She was smiling widely, the necklace hanging around her neck was glowing with enough force to make looking at it a difficult task, "But-" She glanced around again before deciding it was best to be in complete secrecy.

Kagami was tugged back into the closet as Marinette shut the door behind them, and it was only illuminated by her necklace, "Marinette- please just tell me what that necklace is. I know you told me that it wasn't anything bad but I'm worried about you. You've been different lately, and your eyes are a lot darker now and-" Kagami cut herself off, giving a wordless little noise as she wrapped her arms around her middle, "I'm worried, Marinette, you've changed a lot and some things are good but some things are just so...wrong now."

Marinette blinked, eyes all deep and dark as she tilted her head at her, "Nothing's wrong with the necklace, but you're right. It is magic, it has the spirit of Balance inside of it, whose name is Tiye by the way, she's actually the sort of...child? Of Plagg and Tikki. So, don't worry this isn't like possession or something bad, it's just really helpful." She smiled as she took out a very familiar box, "And...well, there's something I want you to have." She popped the box open and there was a flash of light.

It wasn't the Dragon miraculous like she expected, but instead it was a simple silver ring. "Is that-"

"I took it from him last night. Both for the fact that he hasn't really been fighting with me as much as he's been fighting me, and I also found out his identity yesterday because he revealed some stuff. As the- whew there's so much stuff I haven't really explained to you at all yet, but I will, I promise. But what it comes down to is, it's my responsibility to make sure the miraculous are in the hands of people who are responsible enough to hold them. And I think you qualified. So-" She struck a powerful pose as she held out the box (all Kagami could think of was Western engagements)- "Kagami Tsurugi, can I trust you with the miraculous of the cat?"

It was so much, it was so much so fast and Kagami swallowed her spit to try to make her throat stop feeling like a desert, "I- are you sure?"

"I don't think there's anyone else I would rather have by my side. You know my identity, you know the trials of being a miraculous holder, and you know at least how to wield the powers. I'm sure your new kwami, Plagg, will explain further. So, will you take the ring?" There was a little echo to Marinette's words, like someone was saying them with her or that she was repeating words that she was being told.

But if this was something supernatural, if this was something powerful and ancient, then Kagami needed something more than herself to help her protect Marinette. So she just nodded her head, swallowing down her fear, "I accept." The ring was cool against her skin as Marinette slipped it on, thrumming with destructive power and Kagami wondered when she would have to use that power, and whether or not it would be against Marinette herself. There's no real answer, not when Marinette wasn't entirely Marinette, but Kagami hoped the answer was no.

They left the room, blushing and embarrassed (Kagami knew that anyone looking at them would think they were making out), and they tried to talk about other things. Marinette was good at it, immediately jumping into a conversation like they had already been having it, "And so, of course I was excited when I heard that Jagged Stone was going to be showing off my jacket not only on his tour but also on live television!" A little laugh as she twirled, but they were too close to the steps.

Kagami lunged forward, remembering just how close Marinette was to falling the last time. When Kim decided to act on Lila's advice and trip Marinette down the stairs (and even though it was after lunch, the boy still hadn't apologized to Marinette), and how close Kagami had been to letting Marinette fall through her fingers. But that's not what happened this time around. Instead of being able to wrap her arms around Marinette, stopping her from falling, Marinette recovered on her own. Kagami, still in the motion of lunging forward, missed that necessary hold on Marinette to stop her momentum and found herself hurtling towards the stairs with no time to stop.

Or at least, no time for her to stop on her own. Marinette, graceful as ever in that odd not-Marinette way of hers, lashed out and grabbed Kagami. One hand on the railing with the other wrapped around Kagami's waist, the perfect inverse of the time that Kagami saved her, "Careful there, Kishi, wouldn't want my lucky charm getting injured." Her eyes glittered like beetle shells and for once Kagami was true and properly scared of her. Or really, what was around her neck.

"Yeah, wouldn't want me getting hurt," But she had the worst feeling that something bad was happening. Maybe it was the bad luck of the ring, maybe it was something she ate, but she couldn't put it out of her mind anymore. A storm was coming on the horizon, but who was heralding it, Kagami didn't know.


	17. Chapter 17

Marinette was an easy person to love, at least, Kagami thought so. Even with the odd necklace, she was wonderfully brilliant and affectionate. They sat in her room, Kagami just barely starting to feel the strain of standing in the same position for hours on end. They had finally picked a day for Marinette to do the final fitting of her pants, and Kagami had resolved to ask her out before the day's end.

"So, are you planning on fencing? Like as an actual life goal do you want to become a fencer?" Marinette's words were a bit muffled around the pins in her mouth, but Kagami's new hearing let her decipher it with ease.

"Hm, most likely. The Tsurugi family line is one filled with fighters, fencers and business people. I don't think I exactly have the knack to manage the business side, and I am a rather proficient fencer," Her voice jumped just a bit as she felt a pin jab into her thigh, "Worst comes to worse, I'm sure that there's some sort of fencing tutor job out there for me, or maybe even a business job in case I find I have the skills for it."

"You have a lot of skills, Kishi," Marinette grinned up at her, gently adjusting her stance so she could check the inseam of the right thigh. Calloused fingers running up perfect stitches (Kagami knew that they were perfect, Marinette wouldn't have asked for her to try them on if they weren't).

"What about you?" When all that answered her was a questioning hum, Kagami elaborated, "Do you think you're going to be a designer for the rest of your life? I'm not saying it's out of the realm of possibility, considering all that's happened with Jagged Stone endorsing you I'd say you're well on your way to becoming a serious designer." It had been another month since she had been given the miraculous, and yet time seemed to rush at her all the time. She was needed for every battle, or maybe wanted for every battle, and so she fought in every battle. Learning how to properly wield cataclysm and how to be aid Ladybug in her plan.

She wasn't quite at the level that her partner was, didn't have any special abilities yet but her senses were rather fine tuned. Just enough for her to sense some strange things coming to her. There was one of them coming now but she couldn't place exactly what was coming. It was something bad, something deep and dark and bad and if she had cat ears they'd be plastered against her head and her tail would be lashing.

Marinette just let out a little echoing laugh, shaking her head a little. The necklace was glowing and Kagami had to stop herself from instinctively hissing, still, there was something wrong. Marinette still didn't answer, just continued to finish up the legs. Like nothing had happened, like she wasn't avoiding a question.

That strange twisting feeling in her stomach was back, almost enough to make her nauseous but she fought through it, "Marinette-"

"Incorrect," The voice coming out of Marinette's wasn't her own, it was silky and smooth like a river rock (worn down over so many eons of water rushing over it). Marinette (or her body at least) looked up at Kagami. Her eyes were pure black, no sclera, no iris, no pupil, and her lips were pulled into a wide grin. Jabbing the pins haphazardly into the pincushion on her arm, she rose to stand. She stretched out her body, groaning at every little pop and crack of her joints, "Ooh, it's been a while since I've been in a body!" One of the most concerning things that Kagami had ever heard her good friend say.

Kagami's blood ran cold, "Plagg, Claws out!" The words came out in a low hiss as she transformed, finding it easier to fight in the simple martial arts uniform that she had chosen for her outfit as Kuro Neko. Sure, Marinette's early design of a more armored suit was pleasing to the eye, but with the way that Kagami now protected her it was much too bulky. A gi was easier to move in, easier to use her baton with especially when the akuma required it.

Marinette's lips tugged into a pout, arms crossing over her chest, "Well, there's no need to overreact you know! I'm not anything bad! I'm no akuma or anything, in fact I'm nothing good either! But that's not bad, it just is. I'm Balance!"

The emphasis on balance knocked something loose in Kagami's mind and she instinctively jumped up onto Marinette's bed into a crouch, "You're Tiye, the spirit in Marinette's necklace." She felt like beating up her past self, for letting something so magical and potentially dangerous stay around Marinette's neck without even asking her kwami (her new kwami) about it.

"Aww, you do remember me!" It was odd, seeing Marinette's body do her happy dance when it was most definitely not Marinette in control, "But really- this has happened before. It has historical precedence, even though people didn't really acknowledge that it was me! You see, I often take hosts whenever I'm worn, and Marinette's such a wonderful host! Kind, and giving, and just a little in need of balance that I can give her! As well as being a natural Ladybug holder, which is always a plus for me." She wrapped her arms around herself, giggling slightly.

Kagami's eyes slitted and narrowed as she scrunched her face up at her, "So what? What happens to Marinette?"

"Well, she's just going to be...asleep! This world is so unbalanced, everyone around her are all so imperfect and she can't be perfectly balanced if the people around her aren't perfect!" There was the same manic glee in her voice and her eyes as she started to pace, and Kagami began to draw things together. The glee, the manic episodes where Marinette would just start creating and need physical interference to make her stop.

"I'm not just- letting you put my- Marinette into a coma!" She hissed out, tail lashing behind her (though the tail was just the belt of her gi) as she drew out her baton, "She's a person! You can't just pilot her body because that's what you did in Egypt. This isn't Egypt and Marinette has people who will miss her!"

"Imperfect people!" Dust started to swirl up around feet and Kagami could feel a battle coming. But there was no fucking way she was letting Marinette's room get demolished when there was no Miraculous Ladybug that could fix the damage. Strategic retreat it is then, and she jumped out of the trapdoor and onto a neighboring roof. Tiyenette (because it wasn't Marinette, nothing more than her body) grumbled as she moved to follow her up, a dust storm kicking up and letting her float out. "Marinette deserves perfection and she shouldn't have to suffer the imperfections of the world around her."

"Humans aren't supposed to be perfect! That's why we work!" Kuro Kishi growled out, her voice always rougher and lower while transformed. "You're on a useless mission, Tiye, no one is going to be perfect. So let Marinette go."

"No, I don't think I will," Tiyenette seemed bored with keeping up a completely human form, and the dust storm got larger. Swirling up around Marinette's body and covering it in a thick layer of dust and rock, turning her into a sort of elemental. Bulky arms and chunks of rock that seemed caught in her gravitational pull, and she effortlessly floated over the gap between buildings to be in front of her. "You, Kuro Kishi, must be balanced. Marinette's partner must be just as equalized as she is!" Tiye lunged forwards, one rock covered fist moving to swing at her head.

Kagami dodged under the swing, all too reminded of the one time she and Marinette had tried mixed martial arts in her home. But that made it easier, even though there were so many more differences fighting Tiye. Such as the fact that this was actually dangerous now, that Kagami might not make it out- no. She couldn't think like that. Losers thought like that and Kagami was anything but. Her baton extended and she swiped at the lower half of Tiye, trying to trip her up but the baton passed through her. "People aren't supposed to be perfect! That's not how relationships work!" She ended her sentence in a grunt as she backflipped away from another punch.

"But it could be! You're all so blinded by what is that you haven't even considered what could be!" Tiye's voice was hissing, reminiscent of rocks scraping against each other, as she lunged forward again. Kagami was thankful for her foresight, having a moveable outfit meant that she had an advantage over Tiye's bulky form. It was a lot easier for her to dodge out of the way than it was for her opponent, mostly because of just how compact she was compared to her. "Don't you want to be perfect for Marinette?"

The thought hit her like a punch in the gut, but she just yowled as she struck with her baton again. Aiming higher this time and hoping to hit something solid (but not too solid she didn't want to hurt Marinette). Marinette, who was inside all of that rock and stone and just sleeping because she wore a cursed necklace one too many times. Marinette, who Kagami was five minutes away from asking out on a date, who she was maybe five minutes away from being partners in more than just battle with. Marinette, who was currently being used as a weapon against those that she loved. The baton struck gold, enough to dislodge a piece of the rock so that she had a better look at the chest. The necklace was glowing even underneath the dirt and rock and rubble.

She had one chance to destroy it, one cataclysm that had to be placed just so or else it all would come crumbling down. Along with Marinette (she had seen the Heroes Day illusion, she knew what it looked like for a cataclysm to be used on a person). But fencing was all about precision, all about hitting in just the right spot to be legal. All this meant was that she would have to fight smarter and harder and dodge a whole lot more. "Marinette wouldn't want me to be perfect!"

"Of course she would! Who wouldn't want their love to be perfect?" There was emphasis on the word love there, but Kagami couldn't let herself get distracted. She could ask Marinette herself just how right Tiye's wording was, but she couldn't do that if she let Tiye keep her asleep.

Kagami replied with a harsh grunt as she swung her baton on both sides, ramming them into her sides. The chest piece of rock crumpled further, almost like a soda can (Kagami prayed that it didn't mean that Marinette was getting crumpled as well), revealing more of the necklace. The crack was almost enough for her hand to touch, but almost wasn't good enough. Avoiding another swing, she began to retreat. Strategical as all of her moves were, it let her see any weak points in Tiye's rocky form. "Everyone!" She hissed out, keeping at the edges so that she could draw her out into the middle, "No human is meant to be perfectly balanced on their own! Perfection in humans doesn't exist! You're just the same as Bustier!" It was risky, trying to get Tiye mad enough to be stupid, but if it worked then it would all be worth it.

It worked, at least it seemed to. Tiye letting out a ground rattling screech as she rushed forward, "I'm nothing like her! How dare you!" A few more slashes, slashes that Kuro Kishi barely avoided and dug deep grooves into the rooftop. "Bustier was a horrible excuse for a human being, imperfect and cruel and passive! I'm nothing like her!" Another fierce noise and she got too close too fast and Kuro Kishi had to duck under her arm to make her turn around.

"You're exactly like her! You're putting expectations on people that could never be lived up to! You're expecting Marinette to be perfectly balanced, and that's exactly what she did!" Another hissing noise from herself as she crouched low to avoid another slash. "You're just like the people who ruined her mental state, you're just like the people who made her self conscious!" It was a strange sort of vicious satisfaction, being able to yell at someone for hurting Marinette without worrying about her image. "You're all the same, and you're hurting Marinette for it!"

Another guttural growl from Tiye and Kagami had to quickly jump out of the way of several chunks of rock sent her way. "You're a horrible liar, Tsurugi!" It was strange, hearing her family name spat out like it was a curse. "You're hurting Marinette. You told her you never hesitate and yet when it came to her that's all that you did! You hesitated over and over again, hurting her with your imperfection!"

It reminded her of a darker time. Of when she was still chasing after Adrien in the hopes that it might make her mother pay her more attention, when she still thought that she liked boys in general. Kagami had been obsessed with the idea of Adrien being perfect, but she was wrong. Humans can't be perfect, and it was selfish and cruel of her to expect Adrien to be so. But that was a year ago, and Adrien had shown himself to be someone unworthy of her effort. At the moment anyway, when Marinette had calmed down after giving her the ring she told her about how she made sure that Adrien could hold a miraculous, but only after he self reflects. Kagami found that mature and loving and she...still hesitated on asking her out then.

There could be some truth to Tiye's statement though, Kagami wasn't blind to her own flaws and she knew that her lack of action could've easily hurt Marinette. But that's what humans did, wasn't it? They were stupid and foolish and they hurt each accidentally. But that's what humanity was, that's how it worked. A wild grin spread its way across Kagami's lips as she surged forward again, "It's called being human!" Her sentence was punctuated with a downward swing of her baton, hitting Tiye right in the back of her rock chest. The front further splintered, and Kagami just needed to get close. "We're stupid and imperfect and we love each other for it! I don't love Marinette because she's perfect! I love her because she's funny and she snorts when she laughs and she gets too passionate sometimes and forgets the conversation we were having! I love her for all of her flaws, not in spite of them! And you taking those flaws away is you taking away the things that I love!" Another grunt as she flipped in front of her.

The dust around the face cleared, falling uselessly to the ground to show off Marinette's face. Marinette's real face with the light grey eyes and black hair that was tied back in a bun so she could work on the outfit and the little dimples on her cheeks that were there even when she wasn't smiling. Marinette's imperfect but wonderful face. How it was on that day when Kagami found her crying in the bathroom, all shocked and wide eyed as she started at Kagami. "You...love me?" The voice was hers as well. Soft and light and high pitched when she was asking a question. There wasn't any guttural quality, no hisses or rock scrapes, it was just human. Human and imperfect and everything that Kagami loved about her.

It felt like a betrayal, taking advantage of such a vulnerable moment, but this wasn't a fairy tale. A kiss wouldn't solve anything, not when Tiye was still around Marinette's neck. She stepped closer, hand raised like she was about to card it through Marinette's hair, and then she said the all important word: "Cataclysm." Black energy bubbled around her hand as she slipped it past all of the crags and crevices of Tiye's rock protection to grab onto the necklace. It crumbled to ash in her grasp and everything started to fall apart.

The larger rocks came first, crumbling apart like sand and shattering on the rooftop as all of Tiye's armor fell off of Marinette's body. It all crumbled down to rust and ash and dust, dispersing easily in the wind and Kagami was distracted (momentarily at least) by watching it flow away in the breeze. Of course, she couldn't exactly stay distracted. Not when Marinette collapsed into her arms, eyes rolled back in her head and breathing labored. Her chest was bloody, and Kagami felt sick as she realized just how much damage her strikes did to her.

She has to get her medical attention, but how could she explain it? How could she explain to her parents where Kagami went, or what happened, or why there was no Ladybug? A black and red kwami (Tikki, her name was Tikki) spiraled up and started to talk Kagami through the motions. She felt like she was underwater, ears blocked and body heavy as she started to move. Pulling Marinette into a princess carry as Tikki directed her to take another miraculous from the box (it felt wrong, taking something from Marinette with Marinette unconscious because of what she did) and go to someplace safe.

Her home wasn't entirely safe, not with a mother like hers. But her mother was blind, and her mother did not care about what she did as long as she performed with excellence. Her mother would not notice kwamis and magic and a healing girl, especially if she kept Marinette in her bedroom. She nodded her head to herself, still feeling far too slow and clumsy even as she started to leap across the buildings.

Her home felt too far away and all too close as she slipped into her bedroom. Her costume was wet with blood.


	18. Chapter 18

Marinette knew she wasn't dead because dead people don't feel pain. Not that she was in a ton of pain, but her chest hurt and her feet were uncomfortably numb and she made a little groan as she tried to sit up. Her eyes fluttered open and it was hard to focus past blurry shapes and light, but a dark shape approached on her right and she flailed out with a fist.

"Hey, Mari-hime, it's just me," Kagami's voice answered her as she evaded the (rather weak) swing), moving to sit down on the edge of the bed (whose bed? this wasn't a hospital) next to her. Strong, glove covered hands held her shoulders as she was shifted up and had pillows stuffed behind her, "Don't strain yourself, you've been through a lot..." There was a note of regret in her voice, and if Marinette could think beyond the pounding in her skull she'd wonder why.

"Why- nhh it's bright- what happened?" She hoped that it would be a simple answer, but Kagami's silence was only worrying her further.

Kagami stayed silent as she moved to turn off the lights, allowing Marinette's eyes to start to focus and her headache to lessen, "What's the last thing you remember, I'll start from there." Never a good phrase, not encouraging in the slightest and Marinette was getting anxious just thinking about it.

"Oh- uh? Last thing I remember? Jeez, that was...you were coming over so I could do the final fitting of your pants. We talked about...the future and then it's just...blurry," Marinette gestured with her hands, grimacing slightly as she braced herself. How long had it been, a month, two? What if it had been a year and Kagami had an entire life with a different Marinette that wasn't hurt and now she's upset that the old Marinette is back? What if it had been so long and Marinette had missed her entire life because of-

"Oh, thank god, I was worried that the influence had spread further," Relief was evident in Kagami's voice as she gently carded a hand through Marinette's hair. Which was loose around her shoulders, when she knew that the last time she could remember it was up in a bun. "You still remember Tiye, right? And being Ladybug?"

"Yes? Is there a reason I wouldn't?" She tried to focus on Kagami's blurry form, it was something to get her mind off of all of the options that she could jump to. All of the conclusions that she could worry over and wonder what exactly had happened while she was out.

"No, not really I just...I just had to make sure. I'm not used to magic like this, honestly this entire month has been a rollercoaster ride for me." Kagami reached out, bringing Marinette's hands into hers and she could feel the cold metal of the ring on Kagami's finger. The ring of the black cat, oh Marinette felt so guilty over brushing past Tikki's concerns with making Kagami her black cat (she'd have to apologize to her kwami, that was rude). "Tiye...wasn't who we thought she was." Her voice was slightly stilted, and her right ear flicked down.

"Oh kwami, was she evil? Was she destructive, was she worse than an akuma, did I destroy the city? Oh god I absolutely destroyed the city!" Marinette almost wailed as she tried to pull her hand out of Kagami's grasp so she could bury her face in her hands. Catastrophizing was one of the things she did best after all, and the lack of recent memory was helping that skill shine.

There was just the barest note of humor in Kagami's voice as she shook her head, "No- no, Mari-hime, nothing like that happened. She was just...too inhuman. She wanted everything to be perfect, and she put you into a sort of coma and said that she'd let you wake up when everything around you was perfect. While possessing your body..." Kagami's voice lost the humor as she squeezed Marinette's hands, "But you're okay now, I had to cataclysm the necklace but when I asked Tikki she said it was okay. That Tiye's spirit would just scatter apart and she wouldn't have the same power with a conduit."

Marinette let out a little groan as she sagged back against the surprisingly soft pillows, "Where...am I? And why do I feel like I got hit by a truck?" Her eyes were slowly focusing in the dark, and she could now see Kagami's form in more detail. She was transformed as Kuro Kishi, her belt tail flicking back and forth behind her.

She ducked her head, audibly swallowing, "You're in my room. You were rather injured after the fight, and I couldn't very well take you downstairs to your parents and try to explain where Kagami was and what happened to you, so I fed Plagg and then I carried you to my home. I made sure to take back streets so no one would wonder about why a hero is carrying an unconscious bleeding girl to the Tsurugi residence. Tikki's been working on healing you, and I've been making sure that everything's okay. It's been two days and I've just been telling your parents that we have a project to work on together. They've only asked for you to call twice, and Tikki had Trixx mimic your voice."

"Why was I so hurt?" The pain was mostly in her torso, right where her ribs were and a bit at her back. Her hand trailed over her body, feeling the bandages wrapping around her entire chest. A few spots were wet, worryingly so, but as she felt it, the spots seemed to disappear.

Kagami stayed silent, a sort of heavy pause filling the air before she spoke in a low voice, "When Tiye and I fought, she was piloting your body. Sure, she had a sort of a suit of armor made out of dust and rocks, but it didn't really help. I had to attack you, because she was attacking me, and a few times I slammed my baton into you, it must have broken skin. I'm sorry, Marinette," Her voice was soft and regretful and Marinette felt for her.

Before she was reminded of something that had brushed to the side time and time again, the voice in her head (Tiye) telling her that it wasn't important. But without that voice she could see her actions for what they were.

Her breath came out in a ragged gasp as she forced herself to sit up, "Alya! Oh my god, she was so nice to me when she was apologizing, she didn't even expect my apologies and I basically just laughed in her face!" Marinette's hands moved up to pull at her hair, "She's probably so angry at me, and I can't really blame her that was...that was cruel of me! I have to apologize to her," Momentarily blinded to her pain, Marinette tried to get up.

Before she could hurt herself, Kagami pushed her back down onto the bed, "Oh no you don't. Yes, you have to apologize for your rudeness, but not now. Alya will understand, you were friends before this and just because you were rude doesn't mean that she'll never forgive you. But there won't be anything to forgive if you don't take bed rest and get better," There was something tender in Kagami's touch as she tucked Marinette back in.

Another memory came to the surface, blurry and half remembered. They were on a roof and Marinette was cold and hurt and Kagami was staring at her. Kagami said she loved her, Kagami said that she loved Marinette for Marinette. Flaws and all, eccentricities and all, "You-" She started, wanting to ask if Kagami had meant it, but the words caught in her throat.

"I-?" There was something anticipatory in Kagami's voice, like she was waiting for Marinette to ask (she hoped that she wasn't misunderstanding anything here). This wasn't how Marinette expected this to go, but then again what in her life had gone the way she expected? Marinette always thought that Kagami would be the first to bring it up, she always thought that the other would take her own advice and never hesitate.

"You're in love with me?" The words were rushed out and stumbled over each other and Marinette wasn't even sure if it was understandable. She hoped it was, she hoped that Kagami would understand and say yes and love her. But she didn't want to pressure her, that was the last thing she wanted to do. Kagami was just being so nice with helping her not die apparently (and considering the special care given to her bindings, she did that herself).

Kagami averted her gaze, scratching at the back of her neck, "Of course, it's just my luck that you remember that part of the fight."

Her heart dropped out of her chest, a cold feeling spreading where it used to be, "So, you don't?" It wasn't that surprising, after all how could she had known what Kagami meant. Sure, she knew that the other enjoyed her company, and that they were close, but that didn't mean Kagami loved her in that way.

"I...did not say that," Kagami's voice was soft and careful as she turned to properly face Marinette. Her face was unreadable (even to Marinette, who had dedicated herself to be able to read Kagami's emotions when the other one didn't want to express them), but steadfast as she folded her hands in her lap, "I do, I am in love with you. But my love comes with no expectations, even though Tiye implied that you feel the same." She fiddled with the ring on her finger, "Even if you do, there's still no expectation. I love you, and perhaps you love me, but that doesn't mean that you have to enter a relationship with me."

She wanted to, Marinette currently wanted nothing more than to date Kagami (well, other than to stop feeling pain in her chest), but there was just one question left, "I thought you said you never hesitated? Like, yeah Tiye was right about the whole, I love you thing, but...you never really gave any signs that you felt the same way..."

She laughed a little, shaking her head a bit, "I never saw it as hesitating when it came to you. I saw it as giving you time. You were getting over Adrien, you were dealing with Lila, you were dealing with Bustier, you had all this on your plate even before I knew that you were Ladybug, I didn't want to add the expectations of dating to your plate." Kagami murmured words that Marinette couldn't make out, but she detransformed. Plagg spiraled out of the ring, ears pulled back, and flew over to Marinette's face.

Close enough that her eyes needed to focus, Plagg hovered as his two small paws came on both of her cheeks, "Hey there, Bug." There was something sad in his acid green eyes and Marinette remembered what Tikki told her about the necklace. It was half her magic, but it was also half Plagg's.

"Hey, Plagg," Marinette internally cringed at her own voice, she found it too weak for Ladybug. Too weak for the Guardian, too weak for the savior of Paris and definitely too weak for Kagami's girlfriend. "Has Kagami been treating you well?" Not that she expected the answer to be no, but she also never expected Adrien to be Chat Noir and for Chat Noir to be such a hindrance.

"Course she has, wouldn't expect anything less than that," Plagg's voice was sardonic and grumbled out as it always was, but Marinette could read in between the words. Plagg was telling her that she chose correctly, that Kagami's a suitable cat for her, that she hadn't destroyed everything. He was very different from Tikki, but Marinette expected that. Where Tikki was upfront and somewhat concerning because she said everything that had been done wrong, Plagg was more subtle about it. Assurances about small things meant that there was nothing big to worry about.

She wondered what she would be like if she had the ring and Kagami (or Adrien but she didn't want to think about him right now) had the earrings. Certainly different, but that's true for every change that could've happened to her. Maybe she'd be more upfront, a little angrier, but maybe not.

"Mari-hime," Kagami's voice was patient and Marinette realized they were in the middle of a pretty important discussion, "What I said still holds true even though our feelings are mutual. You have a lot on your plate, and though I would love to help you share it, I know that sometimes I cannot. Sometimes there are things that you have to do on your own and that's fine."

"I don't want you to get hurt, Kagami. Especially not because of me," Marinette remembered Desperada, how many times Adrien had to watch her disappear into gold dust, and she didn't want that for Kagami. She didn't want Kagami to see her weakest moments as Ladybug (she knew why, she knew that even after all they've been through she still couldn't handle Kagami seeing her as weak).

"Marinette," The full name was almost harsh, and Marinette looked up from her hands to stare in Kagami's eyes, "I am not a damsel, neither are you for that matter, but. Point of my interruption is that you don't need to protect me. Not anymore than I should protect you. I am not someone that you must look out for and I can take care of myself. You asked me before you gave me the choker and you asked before you gave me the ring if I understood the burden it would mean. And I said yes each time. If I get hurt, I have signed up for that hurt, and I know that you would never purposefully get me hurt." She leaned forward, hair hanging down as she clasped one of Marinette's hands in both of hers. "If you are going to reject me, don't do it because you don't want me getting hurt."

Marinette was at a loss for words, but that was normal for her. She stared at their hands, at how Kagami's thumb rubbed over the back of hers, "Well then..." She took a slow, steadying breath, shoulders rising and falling (it hurt a little, straining the bandages as she rolled her shoulders back), "Would you like to date me?"

"I would, a lot," Kagami grinned, bright and shining even in the dark room. "But our first date is going to have to be delayed, because you're still injured." Her hand gently moved to Marinette's torso, two fingers pressing into her side and making her hiss, "See, and this is after Tikki's healing. You might need to have some sort of cane for a little bit according to her, but at least you aren't...in a coma or..." Her words trailed off and she made a vague gesture with her hand.

"Yeah, and- Kishi-" She shifted, grimacing slightly as she moved to cup her cheek with a hand- "Don't blame yourself for this, no matter what's coming for me."

"I can't just not blame myself, Mari-hime, because I am at fault. You wouldn't be in this sort of pain if I didn't fight Tiye, even if you're technically better off for not having Tiye possess you."

"Exactly, if it wasn't for you, I would be possessed and asleep and kinda in a coma. I can handle a little pain," Marinette grinned a little up at her, rubbing Kagami's cheekbone with a thumb, "I love you a lot, Kishi, and I'm really glad that I can finally tell you." She took a low breath in, which slowly faded into a yawn.

"You should get some sleep, Tikki's going to be able to heal you a lot faster when you're asleep," Kagami started to shift her down, "I sound like my mother," The words were mumbled out and she slowly shook her head, laughing a little.

Marinette laughed with her, eyes going half lidded as she curled up underneath the blankets. One hand curled underneath her cheek as the glow of Tikki's magic covered her, lulling her faster to sleep.

This time she had dreams (it had been so long since she had dreams, how long had it been since she had an actual dream?), but it was strange and blurry. Dreams were always like that (right? Marinette didn't remember what dreams were like), but it was warm. Warm and loving and it made her feel like she was wrapped in warm blankets. Could've been Tikki's magic, could've been Kagami's presence.

Everything was wonderful when Kagami was there, and she finally felt like things were looking up. Kagami was her black cat, her life was at least a little better after leaving Bustier's, there was no longer any strange necklace whispering into her ear and Lila was finally out of her life. Her dreams were fleeting, small glimpses of happiness and warmth, but it was all indistinct.

Humanly indistinct and imperfect and Marinette hadn't realized just how much she missed that sort of imperfection. Tiye was trying her best, at least from her perspective, but looking back on it, Marinette could see the gaps in understanding. She was perfect when Tiye was whispering in her ear, perfect posture and movements and thoughts and mannerisms, but it had been slow enough that Marinette didn't even notice how much she had changed until it was too late.

Until she was laughing in Alya's face after the other apologized sincerely, until she was taking Chat's ring and barely feeling a thing internally, until all of her thoughts were on pause until when finally Kagami broke through on that rooftop. She didn't let her think about what would've happened if Kagami had lost, if Kagami hadn't been able to fight Tiye off.

Why bother thinking about things that didn't (and can never, now) happen? Kagami saved her, and Tikki was healing her, and that's all that mattered. Just one day at a time, that's what Marinette had to handle at this point. Chronic pain? She'll handle it as it goes. Having to use a cane? She'll find a way to decorate it her way and rock it. She just has to be alive to do it, and she just has to take it one day at a time.

The next few days were spent in and out of sleep, and after the second day that she was awake she was sent home. Passing off her exhaustion as just being tired from working so hard, she fell asleep again. Papillion seemed to be taking a break (little did she know that Gabriel Agreste was currently in London for a business meeting) for the week, fortunate since all of Tikki's energy was used up healing her.

The healing made her flushed and feverish, something that convinced her parents to let her stay home. Excusing her off as having the flu, not anything to be worried about but it was enough to keep her from school. Tikki did her best to make her recovery seem average, even if Marinette was a little weaker they had to stage something. Had to stage or come up with an explanation that wouldn't have her parents worrying themselves sick over what their daughter was doing. The cane could be excused as something to stop herself from getting tripped, or maybe an outfit accessory as opposed to something that she needs.

But she couldn't stay away from school forever, and on a Monday (almost a week after Tiye had possessed her), Marinette stared up at the school building. Kagami had driven her over, claiming to her parents that it was just a show of support, but she knew it was because walking long distances was hard for her now. Kagami had also bought her a cane, flat head with a straight base. She had also been a little secretive in regards to just how much money it had cost, but Marinette let it go.

After all, it wasn't like she could explain to her parents why she needed to buy a cane, especially since they didn't have a cover story worked up. Tikki was right, Marinette's body was almost always at least aching if not completely paralyzed with pain. The tiny god told her that the pain could last for the rest of her life, waxing and waning but never properly going away. But that was just another thing to deal with on her own.

"Mari-hime," Kagami's voice was soft as she moved to her side, "You can go back home if it's a bad day."

Alright, maybe not entire on her own.


	19. Chapter 19

As easy as it could've been, Marinette didn't take the chance to go home. It felt too much like quitting and too much like taking the easy way out, and she was Ladybug. She's not going to falter in the face of adversity (especially not when it was just school, if she could stare down a monster as tall as a building she could take on a school that she's been going to for years). Her grip tightened on the hilt of her cane and she frowned up at the building.

"I wonder if Lila's transferred..." The words were said idly, just a little comment as she walked arm in arm with Kagami (with her girlfriend, because even though their only dates were over Facetime, they were still dating).

"She didn't," Kagami grinned like the devil as she squeezed Marinette's other hand, "Apparently her mother had finally talked to the principal about all of the absences and he took the chance to ask where Lila's been, and turns out that she had told her mom that the school had been shut down for akuma attacks!" For all of her monotonous tones, Marinette found Kagami a wonderful storyteller. The same sort of enrapturing story that got her gasping at all the right parts.

"Akuma attacks? But isn't her mom some ambassador?" Marinette didn't have to fake the confusion in her voice as she turned her head to face Kagami.

"Yes, but apparently her job keeps her so busy she couldn't even check on what's actually going on," A little roll of her eyes, and she continued, "According to Madame Rossi, her daughter had told her that the city's heroes were useless at their job and took weeks to stop one akuma attack!"

Marinette's grip on her cane tightened as they came to the steps, "She did not!"

"She did!" Kagami's eyes gleamed even as she readjusted her hold on Marinette's arm, wordlessly making sure that her girlfriend could climb the stairs (and that if anything went wrong she'd be able to catch her), "And for some reason, her mother believed her! Oh, I wish I recorded it for you, but it just happened so fast. But Madame Rossi was so angry at her daughter I thought we were going to have an akuma on our hands!" She flicked her hand a little, one eye on Marinette as they climbed the stairs, "But it didn't come. She just yelled at her daughter and Lila tried to weasel her way out of it, which was when Alya-" the name made Marinette's chest seize- "stepped in and started telling Madame about all of the lies that Lila had been bragging about. All of the trips to far away lands, all of the disabilities that she claimed to have, all of the connections, everything. It was...extremely intense and this is only what I heard from the classroom."

They had reached the top of the stairs (finally, it felt so much longer to Marinette), and she had to pause. One hand raised to make Kagami stop her story telling, a little grimace twisting her lips as she moved out of the way of the stairs. Just enough to make it to the railing, leaning heavily against it. It was strange, feeling this weak after just a flight of stairs (but Tikki told her that it would take time to regain her strength, and she trusted her kwami), but one day at a time. "I...I really have to apologize to Alya, Kishi..."

"I know, and if you want to, we can go right now for you to do that. I'll let you two be alone and you can...figure things out," Her voice was gentle and understanding and if they weren't in public, Marinette would've leaned in to finally kiss her. Not really, she wanted their first kiss to be something a lot more special than just a spur of the moment impulse because she found herself swooned by Kagami's sheer understanding.

Instead, she just nodded her head, "Yeah, yeah I'd like that," She straightened up to better work her cane, "I can get there on my own, Kishi-" she said as she noticed Kagami moving to escort her- "As much as I like being escorted, I should do it on my own." Kagami's cheek twitched momentarily into a smile, before Marinette turned around to make her way to Bustier's. Things were still different about her, even disregarding the cane. Her skin had retained that thick nature of keratin from being Ladybug (not that it was noticeable from a glance), her senses stayed sharp and fine tuned (according to Kagami, the ribbons in her pigtails occasionally moved), and even with the cane she knew that she was incredibly balanced. Only fumbling when she made a wrong move with the cane, only tripping over the cane when she was distracted, but when she let herself focus she barely felt wobbly.

"Marinette!" Alya was the first of the class to notice her in the doorway, and she shoved her phone in her pocket in order to rush up to her. Just barely stopping in front of her when she noticed the cane, her eyebrows drew together, "What happened?"

"Can we talk about this in private?" That certainly made it sound so much more concerning, but Marinette didn't have the energy to sift through social cues.

Alya did seem a lot more concerned at that, but she nodded her head, "Yeah! Yeah, sure okay-" Her words were a little scrambled, a little worried, but she slowly moved with Marinette a bit away. The school had a lot of little crevices and places that they could slip into, and Marinette leaned up against the wall to help her stay on her feet, "So what happened?"

"I'm sorry!" The words were rushed out and Marinette flushed after it, groaning a little, "I mean- I'm sorry for how rude I was when Lila got exposed. I could- I can't-" She paused, shoulders slumped as she chewed on her bottom lip.

Alya's gaze softened a little and she reached out to put her hand on Marinette's shoulder, "Girl, don't worry, I get it. I was pretty unfair to you when I just assumed all of your motivations came from a guy-"

"-I was also possessed!" Again, the words seemed to come out of her mouth without Marinette's permission, "There are- there's a lot more magic out there than the miraculous, it turns out." In for a penny, in for a pound, she definitely didn't want to just leave Alya off with a vague statement about being possessed, "I got a necklace, from my great aunt, and it turned out that the necklace had a spirit inside of it. And then that spirit started changing things up inside of me and so I was really affected it by it and then I had to try to manage that but I couldn't manage it because I barely even noticed that I was getting possessed and by the time anyone found out it was too late and-" She heaved, finding herself breathless.

Across from her, Alya's mouth hung open. There was a beat, where Alya expected Marinette to continue, but Marinette was too winded, and then she spoke, "That's a lot, that's...a lot to take in right now, but- I get it. I mean, I don't get it, but it's okay. Cause you can tell me more when you're ready- which I totally understand isn't now. Like if you want to put the entire friendship on pause I totally understand- I wasn't fair to y-" Her sentence got cut off as Marinette rushed forward and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Please be my friend again," Marinette's voice was thick with tears as she buried her face into Alya's neck, "You're the only one who apologized, and you did it right away. I know I haven't been in class but no one even showed up at my house to try! I should've accepted your apology when you gave it, but I didn't so I'm doing it now." Her hands were slightly trembling as she grasped at the back of Alya's shirt. "I missed you so much."

Alya hugged back, holding her as close as she could, "I missed you too, Mari, and I'm going to be trying to make it up to you for like- years, but I'll do it. But I do have one question-" She pulled back a little, letting Marinette see the teasing grin on her lips- "I've noticed you and the school's resident Ice Queen have gotten really close, I'm betting there's a story there!" Her eyes gleamed and Marinette almost burst into tears again.

"There is, and I'll tell you it when I'm not so exhausted that I feel like collapsing," Marinette moved back a little, steadying herself on her cane as she wiped at her eyes.

"Speaking of...what's with the cane?" Alya glanced at it, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"It's apart of the whole...possession thing. Turns out the necklace was sapping a lot of my energy while it possessed me, and now that it's broken, I'm sort of left..." She trailed off, gesturing at the cane and her shaking hands gripping the handle, "Like this."

"Well, I'm at least glad that you're healthy enough to come to school, I'm guessing the last week of you having the flu was...related to this?" Her eyebrow arched and Marinette nodded her head.

She wanted to stay, to keep talking with Alya like Lila had never happened and they were still best friends, but the bell rang overhead, "We should get to class, maybe I'll see you during lunch?" It was asked hesitantly, Marinette worried that maybe the answer would be no.

But Alya replied with a wide grin, "I'll be there, just make sure to save me a seat since you're so popular!" A loud laugh (Marinette had missed her laughter) and she did double finger guns at her, "See ya then, good luck with Mendeleiev's!" With a fast turn on her heel, Alya moved back into Bustier's. Marinette already missed her, but she didn't regret leaving Bustier's.

Her own pace to Mendeleiev's was slower, Marinette making sure to not overwork herself before first period. She gave a tired smile at her teacher as she came in, but she certainly wasn't prepared for the reaction.

It was a lot like her first day in the class, so many people rushing her and sweeping her into a hug. Group hug of course, but it was less overwhelming this time as she laughed a little. It felt weirdly freeing, finally feeling properly human after all this time. Her senses, her skin, her abilities meant nothing compared to how satisfying it was to be at the center of a group hug that was solely there to make her feel better. "Stop crowding me! I was sick, not dead!"

"You were gone for a week!" Allegra shouted, a little close to Marinette's ear as her grip tightened around her, "We thought you were and Kagami was the only one telling us that you weren't! We kept visiting the bakery to check up on you but your parents didn't let us 'cause they thought that you could be contagious!" Which would've been true if she had actually had the flu, but recovering from having your energy sapped by a magical necklace wasn't something that could affect other people.

Still, her heart warmed at the memory of her mother coming up to care for her and tell her just how many of her friends had visited every day. Kagami was the only constant, coming as her civilian persona every day after school and then coming through the trapdoor as Kuro Kishi. It wasn't strictly needed, but it made Marinette feel safer. She could rest since Kuro Kishi (her knight, her wonderful dark storm of a knight) was there to watch over her and wake her up in case there was an akuma or something that she was needed for as Ladybug.

"I'm fine!" She protested, grumbling a little like she wasn't happy enough to cry with the affection being shown. A week with minimal hugging and hand holding had definitely got her down, even if she was asleep for most of it.

"Then why do you have a cane?" Jean asked, a little teasing but Marinette could easily pick out the notes of concern. Her new senses had made it easier for her to do things like that, figure out how a person was feeling just from their voice, and Marinette had a feeling that her ribbons were sticking straight up and waving around.

Still, there was a question to be answered and Marinette bit her bottom lip, "I have...a little bit of chronic pain now, at least that's what the internet says and we've been waiting until my fever went down to visit a doctor. Walking long distances is hard for me, and I have to rely on the cane for climbing up stairs now," At least, that's what Tikki told her to say, it was the easiest and most realistic excuse. Not entirely false either, except for the doctor part. Maybe she could tell her parents the full truth, maybe she could talk about the necklace to them and say that it was a stupid teenaged mistake to put it on.

"I see," Mendeleiev's voice was calm and kind (but for a second, Marinette was terrified that she was going to get accused of being a liar like Lila, no doctor's note no parent's note), "Well, I'm sure that you'll be bringing in a doctor's note when you have one. But, Marinette," She paused, eyes crinkling slightly at the corners as she smiled, "I'm glad that you're back in my class."

It had been a rough week (a rough few months, honestly as Marinette looked back on it all), and Marinette could feel her eyes tearing up as she nodded her head, "Yeah, I'm glad to be back." The group hug slowly broke apart and Marinette found herself supported heavily on her cane as she made her way to her seat. Kagami was already there, a slight smile on her lips as she splayed out the notes for the week that she had missed.

"I took an extra copy of them, so you wouldn't have to copy them down yourself. We learned a lot, but I tried my best to mimic your style while taking them for you," Kagami pointed out a few places on the notes where she had doodled in the margin and starred certain words. "They aren't perfect, but-"

"I love them, Kagami," Marinette beamed, bright as she used to do, and rested her hand on Kagami's, "I'm glad that I won't have to do all of this by myself. Catch up always sucks," She pulled a face, just to make Kagami laugh. She had more to say (she always did), but soon enough Mme. Mendeleiev clapped her hands for attention and started the lesson.

It took a half hour for them to be able to talk again, but that was fine by Marinette. Kagami took great notes, but it was nothing like having Mme go over everything that they had already done for her. She was a good teacher when it came down to it, better than Bustier by light years, always making sure that no one was left behind when she was moving on. Kagami's notes were extensive enough that Marinette just had to read over them and add a few additions of her own, but that still took time.

Eventually, though, they were given time to work on the worksheets and Marinette shifted a little closer to Kagami, "The talk with Alya went...really good,"

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kagami's smile, "That's great, Mari-hime, what did you...tell her?"

"The truth, that the necklace was magical and that it affected me horribly and I was possessed, and we made up," Her voice was soft enough to not be overheard, her hand trembled just a bit (but whether that was overexertion or emotion, she couldn't tell) as she tried to write the notes, "She's going to sit with us at lunch, okay? On my other side," Marinette's life had been cut in half. She had a good side and a bad side, and Kagami always found herself on the bad side. It was sort of like a blind spot, she could trust her girlfriend to be there for her if she needed it, and it was reassuring to sense her there.

"And I'm guessing she took the whole...you got possessed thing well?" None of Kagami's words were completely sure, almost all of them picking up at the end like they were all questions.

A quick snort left Marinette's lips, "I mean...as well as you can take getting told that your friend was possessed by an inhuman spirit of balance. But, we're friends again, even if Alya's dead set on making it up to me, so...it's good." She wanted to speak those words into existence, make them become true from her will alone. Sure, Lila hadn't left, but she was powerless without people believing her lies. Everyone knew that what she had said about her was lies, that all of the connections were lies and fabrications to make them want to be her friend. And that was all that she could ask for, for that same amount of trust. But that didn't mean that she really forgave her old class, not after the mean glares and the yelling and the tripping that still made her hands tremble when she remembered how close she was to getting hurt.

The class sped by, it was hard to stay focused with the pain in her leg and chest distracting her, but it still passed as fast as ever. Before she knew it, Mendeleiev was asking if there were any questions and the class chorused a resounding no. Even she did, it was hard to still be confused with Mendeleiev's thorough explanations and Kagami's carefully penned notes. Moving to lunch was a separate battle though.

The lunchroom was downstairs and further inside the school, meaning Marinette would have to walk for at least ten minutes with her new pace. She stopped at the top of the stairs, feeling vertigo already as she looked down there, paused with her cane out to the side of her.

"I can carry you, Mari-hime," Kagami suggested from her side, one hand gently resting on her arm, "I know that you'll have to be self sufficent, and I'm not one to take that away from you, but it is your first day back."

A weight was lifted from Marinette's shoulders, thinking about doing this much activity on her first day back was overwhelming, but Kagami was there to shoulder the burden, "I'd like that. If it wasn't my first day, I'd say no but...." She let her words trail off as she collapsed her cane.

Kagami grinned slightly, moving closer to sweep Marinette into a bridal carry. It was easy and practiced, too many akuma attacks before it all happened where Kagami had to pick civilians up to keep them out of the battlefield. Walking down the steps was a little awkward, but Marinette figured that it evened out with the price of her exhaustion. She still wanted to talk during lunch, and then there was the fact that she had classes afterwards to consider. Kagami was strong enough that she barely exerted herself as she carried Marinette down the steps and into the cafeteria. She set down just at the lunch table before slipping into her seat.

Marinette unfolded her cane, tucking it in with her as she sat down, "Thanks for that, Kishi, I needed that." She reached over to hold Kagami's hand and give it a little squeeze, the most affectionate that they had agreed to be in public. Trying to balance their new relationship, Kagami's reserved approach to physical touch, and Marinette's enthusiasm to it was difficult, but Marinette was more than willing to let Kagami guide her on that. "So!" She beamed at the rest of the group at the table, "Tell me what I missed!"

Everyone started talking at once, but Marinette's senses sifted through all of it with ease. Byron talked about how Kagami had been ruthless with Adrien during their practices, and had threatened to take off the guard on the tip of her sabre if he didn't get out of her face. Aurore talked about how her internship with 4Kids+ was going (great, she was looking into finding a way to get Mireille on the show with her), and how she had started carrying her parasol around regularly after the repeat of Stormy Weather. Mireille talked about how she had started a new project of her painting, trying to capture a tornado in the process of ripping up a house (she showed off progress pictures and they looked fantastic). Jean talked about his newest magic trick, some complicated card shuffling that was all slight of hand according to him.

What she did notice was how they all went silent as Alya approached the table. Well, if she wanted to make this friendship work, then she wasn't going to let that awkwardness stay. Marinette turned in her seat and waved her over, "Alya! Come on," She shifted a little, making a small space for Alya to sit right next her, "Mind the cane!" A little laugh as Alya moved to sit next to her. She turned back to the rest of the people who had various states of grimaces on their faces, "Alya apologized, and we've made up, and we're friends now!" She said it like there was no way that anyone could change her mind, and there really wasn't.

Alya raised her hand, giving a short wave as she shifted in her seat, "And- I'm going to be working pretty hard to make it up to my girl here," She grinned, and there seemed to be a moment of silent communication amongst the group, but finally Aurore broke the silence.

"So, you run the Ladyblog right? What do you think about Chat Noir's replacement, that Kuro Kishi?" She leaned across the table, grinning widely at the other reporter as she disrupted the rest of the table who were just trying to eat.

A familiar spark lit up in Alya's eyes and she gasped softly, "I love her! She works so much better with Ladybug than Chat Noir and honestly she seems to be more openly helpful! Before, Ladybug was just taking on the akuma on herself, but before that Chat just let her make the plan and then he helped. But if what I've been seeing is right, then Kuro Kishi has actually come up with a lot of the plans on her own, sometimes Ladybug doesn't even need to call for her Lucky Charm because her plans are just that good!"

Marinette could feel pride radiating off of Kagami, so proud of herself that her hard work had been noticed and documented, and she interjected, "I do kinda wonder what's going on with Chat Noir that made her retire him."

Aurore made a low 'tch' noise in the back of her throat, flicking her hand like she was tossing something away, "If he wasn't helping her, then Ladybug was totally in the right for getting rid of him. Honestly, I haven't been a fan of him for a while, he just was too lax about it and he was always sprinting off when the battle was done, even if he wasn't on a timer. Never stayed to talk to the akuma and comfort them, unlike Ladybug."

"I know!" Mireille's voice was soft, almost inaudible in the noisy lunchroom, but she leaned forward, "I was caught up in one of Kuro Kishi's first battles, or at least first public battles, and she was so nice about getting me out of the way. Yelled something I couldn't even figure out to Ladybug to let her know where she was going before getting me away and then going right back to battle after making sure that I was safe!"

Marinette squeezed Kagami's hand again, sharing a little inside joke of a grin with her as she rested her head on her shoulder, "I also love Ladybug's new outfit!" It was strange to talk about herself in the third person, but it was also the only thing that she could do. "Really, I'm glad that she got an upgrade, her old suit was just so boring!"

"I bet your design brain came up with ten different versions of it the minute you saw it, huh?" Alya teased, giving her a gentle little knock on the shoulders, "The fact that you haven't already created a miraculous guide astounds me, girl, I would've thought that was the first thing that you'd do."

She rolled her eyes, giving Alya a returning shove, "I would've! But I figured that everyone else in Paris was already going to be doing that and I didn't want to copy anyone's designs. Plus, with Mayor Bourgeois trying to keep the whole superhero thing on lock, I don't know how much the rest of the world knows about the heroes. Definitely didn't need to have another reason for Chloe to hate me, even if she isn't here." It was half true, Marinette really didn't want to find out just how much the rest of the world knew about akumas, and she also didn't want to risk stepping on any more famous designers toes. But it also wasn't the whole story, she felt like it was too close to her superhero identity, like if she drew herself wearing a Ladybug inspired outfit then everyone would figure it out.

"Oh- also, Mari," Alya's expression darkened, a slight scowl on her lips, "The people in your old class are probably going to approach you after lunch, not sure how many of them are actually going to apologize, but I tried to get them to stop. None of them really listened to me though, I just figured you should definitely have a warning for that."

She went still, shoulders tensing as she just imagined it. All of them coming back without really apologizing and asking her to go back to making them things and coming to their meets and come back to class and be their class president again because Lila wasn't doing a good enough job for them. Marinette dug her nails into her palms as she stared at the table, and when she spoke her voice was lighter than she thought it would be, "Kagami, would you mind escorting me around for the rest of the day? I don't want to face the class alone." She felt almost like fainting, or at least a little faint.

"Of course, Mari-hime, I'll even bring my sabre if it would make you feel safer," There was a teasing tone to her words, but underneath that there was something a lot more dangerous. Dangerous like whenever she used her ability, dangerous like when she ranted about how much she wanted to use that ability on Papillion's face, a protective sort of dangerous and Marinette gave her hand another squeeze.

"I know I'm supposed to be the voice of reason here, but honestly that would make me feel a lot better," Her response, which was only half joking, did get a lot of laughs from the table. Some tension left her shoulders as Kagami wrapped her arm around her waist and pulled her closer, and considering Alya's too-knowing look, it was a little romantic. Marinette didn't find herself minding that Alya knew, or at least suspected, that they were together. After all, she was one of the first people that Marinette told about being bi, it's only right that she was the first person to find out that she was in a relationship.

"I get it if you don't want me to be there, but if you need another protector I'm game for coming with," Alya laughed, a little strained and a little pleading. It was an attempt to get back to the old normal, back before Alya let her desire for fame and the next scoop blind her. It wasn't a bad olive branch, it was actually reassuring and Marinette was already thinking about maybe giving Alya another miraculous. Maybe not the fox, Rena Rogue was too iconic of a design and Alya had been gushing about the design afterwards for too long to ask her to replace it. But it took a certain type of maturity to immediately admit that she was wrong right to Marinette's face.

"I'd like that, Alya, especially if I need someone to stall them while Kagami picks me up for a getaway!" She laughed, again breaking the ice as everyone else laughed with her. The group had shrunk a little, most people having finished up their actual meals and going elsewhere to finish up the break, but her core group stayed. Byron had left to go practice fencing, but only after assuring Marinette that if she needed help he'd be there. Leaving just Jean, Mireille, Aurore, Kagami, Alya and her. But really, she was more comfortable with that. No matter how much of a social butterfly Tiye had made her out to be, Marinette found comfort in just having a few trusted friends rather than having the entire school at her beck and call.

Still, she decided to bite the bullet and moved to stand, "Let's see if we can get this over sooner rather than later, just in case things go bad." She could've said 'just in case I have a complete breakdown and get overwhelmed', but Marinette wanted to be positive today.


	20. Chapter 20

Biting the bullet was the best term for it, since the second that the trio walked out of the lunch room they were almost surrounded by Bustier's class. Marinette's grip on the handle of her cane was almost white knuckled as she was surrounded, feeling the ribbons of her pigtails lifting in warning. "Hey, guys." The words were a little too casual for what Marinette was feeling, but she didn't want to start off on the wrong foot. No matter what they had done, she didn't want to ruin any forgiveness that they could be offering by being mean upfront.

"Oh thank god you're still here!" Mylene enthused, like she hadn't expected Marinette to mend her dress even after ignoring her for weeks. Her grip tightened as the shorter girl ran her hand through her multicolored braids, "I was worried that you were going to be there forever!" A little laugh, that wasn't shared around the group and Marinette wondered how much they had planned this whole thing. Or maybe they were just expecting her to jump into their arms and cry for friendship.

"Well, Alya told me that you guys were waiting for me so I decided to finish up early," She smiled, even though it felt tight around the edges to even try to keep it up, "So, what did you guys want to talk to me about?" There was a little bit of forced cheer in her voice, but she kept her grip on her cane to stop herself from rocking.

"We wanted to ask if you wanted to come back to Bustier's! It hasn't been the same since you left, and since Lila...fell through, we really could use a useful class president!" Rose's voice was soft as Mireille's, but Marinette found it oddly grating. Maybe it was what she was saying, how she expected Marinette to be useful.

Marinette's smile froze on her face, and she could hear Kagami growling low in her throat, "Sorry, but, I'm really happy in Mendeleiev's!"

"Oh, but Marinette!" Rose whined and Marinette's grip tightened again, "You were such a good class president, we miss you so much!"

There was something so blindingly important missing and Marinette was getting a bit fed up with how they just kept missing it, "Well, that's sweet, but no. I worked hard to get to Mendeleiev's class and I'm not going back on it. It would take way too much energy that I don't have right now," She emphasized her words with a tap on the ground of her cane. It was a heavy thing, Marinette was glad that Kagami got a metal one instead of a plastic one. Certainly a better weapon if it came down to it.

Rose teared up, blinking faster than necessary, "But- but!" A few tears trickled down his cheeks, "But we know Lila's a liar now! We know that you were right and you can come back! Mendeleiev's such a mean teacher why would you want to stay with her?"

"She's not even that mean! She just knows that maybe you shouldn't be spraying perfume in a science lab! That sort of stuff has killed people you know, sure she can be a little harsh but you weren't even paying attention. She's actually really helpful if you're not understanding the lesson and she's willing to pause the entire class to help you catch up!" Marinette defended her favorite teacher, upset that her old class was so blind to what an actually good teacher was like.

"Marinette," Adrien spoke up, and Marinette almost jumped. It had been a while since she'd seen him, in any capacity other than brief glimpses in the hallway, and he looked worse for wear. Dark bags under his eyes, a little paleness to his face and his hair was a little messy (she wondered how she hadn't known that he was Chat Noir before). "Why not come back? We all miss you, and Lila's still there but none of us really pay attention to her anymore!"

Even with the knowledge that Lila didn't have any power, the idea of being in a classroom with her made ice cover her spine. Marinette straightened up and she gave a tight swallow, "But she's still there, and she still bullied me. With the help of most of you by the way, should I remind you?" Her tone had started to get darker, and her grip just tightened harder on the rubber grip of her cane, "You all made me into an outcast, you all bullied me, some of you tripped me, some of you claimed that I had stolen designs that easily could've ruined my designing life. All on the word of someone who you barely knew, most of you have known me for years! Since primarie! But Lila comes in and all of you suddenly think that I'd bully someone after what happened with Chloe!" It felt good to get the anger out, even as she watched their faces pale.

"Marinette," Adrien's voice was a little more insistent, and he reached out to try to grab her arm. Of course, he didn't get close before Kagami batted his hand away with a muted hiss. "Don't you think you're being a little...mean? We've all understood that we were wrong, and that we're sorry."

"Oh, is that right?" Marinette gave a tinny little laugh, shifting her weight in order to jab her finger in his chest, "If you're so sorry, then why is the first thing any of you said was trying to get me back in the class so I could be useful for all of you? Why haven't any of you even tried to apologize for what you did to me? None of you even showed up at the bakery to try to apologize or check on me since I was out of school for a week?" Her eyes narrowed slightly at him, looking him up and down.

On one hand, she had some pity for him. His dad could be Papillion (if the map that she had hanging on her wall was correct), he had gotten his miraculous taken and was almost immediately replaced by someone that people liked a lot better than him. But on the other...that didn't change everything else about him. It didn't change how annoying and unhelpful he was during akuma battles, or how he would pester her for dates in the suit, or how he came to her balcony to try to guilt trip her into forgiving her class. It also didn't excuse how he didn't help her out of the suit, how he said it only mattered that they knew but turned his back on her to pretend like nothing was happening.

Maybe it was petty, maybe it could even be considered mean, but Marinette couldn't stop herself from saying, "If you think that everyone's understanding, then have you told them that you knew this entire time?" The words were a low hiss, but they were loud enough to be heard.

Nino was the one who spoke first, "Dude...you knew? Like I know we didn't really believe Marinette, but that's because-"

"-That was because they were all convinced I hated her because I was in love with you. And it was a previous crush, that crush is long gone now," She couldn't stop her gaze from flicking to Kagami, but she hoped no one noticed. "Which was honestly really mean of all of you, you all just boiled me down to a jealous girl with a crush because you didn't want to think for a second that your new well connected friend was maybe lying to you." She was betrayed the most by Nino, but she couldn't really place why it was different this time. He never stood up against Chloe for her, but somehow a year or two of being friends again wiped that away. But she had thought that maybe he'd give her the benefit of the doubt.

He wilted slightly under her glare, but Marinette found it hard to pity him.

"I just- I thought that it was like the tabloids-" Adrien tried, face a little flushed as he tugged on the collar of his shirt, "Y'know, ignore it and it'll go away." He flapped his hand a little, like he was dismissing a fly.

Marinette paused, head tilting a little as she stared at him long enough to make him shift, "This isn't a tabloid, Adrien, you really have to read the room and maybe not tell me that getting constantly tripped in the halls isn't bullying." Her eyes roamed over the class, trying to pick out who actually seems sorry. Even with her low expectations, she was still disappointed. Most of them looked almost put out by her refusal of forgiveness, or like they're disappointed that she's not coming back to Bustier's, "Besides, Bustier's a horrible teacher."

That certainly got a reaction. Nathanial giving a little, almost offended gasp, as he moved forward, "No she isn't! She's a fantastic teacher!"

"You only like her because she lets you draw in class, which is the same reason that you hate Mendeleiev because she takes teaching seriously," Marinette kept her shoulders square, but her face calm, "She's a horrible teacher, she puts so much pressure on me just to be the class president, I was stuck in that position! I'm not even Mendeleiev's class president, Aurore and Bridgette are!" She was a little angry, but it was warranted wasn't? She had been through too much and it was all finally coming out. Sure, it was a little petty, but Marinette deserved a little bit of petty. "I'm not coming back, and in fact...I don't really forgive any of you."

Again her words caused a stir in the group, but Mylene was the only one to actually speak, "What? Why!"

"Well, for starters I'm not sure how many of you are actually sorry for what you put me through. Kim hasn't said anything to me or my parents about trying to push me down the stairs, or actually tripping me in a few cases. And when you all surrounded me, none of you really seemed to care about me. You just wanted to know if I'd be coming back to be your ever cheerful class president, none of you have even asked why I'm using a cane for-" She squeezed the handle harder, cutting herself off, "And even if I did think any of you were actually apologetic, I wouldn't have to accept your apologizes. You still hurt me, you all really hurt me, and I don't have to forgive that just because you said two words."

"What about Alya," Kim spoke up like he had any place to be angry, "You seem all buddy buddy with Alya, and she was your best friend! I thought that she would be the last person you'd forgive."

Alya winced, but Marinette just shifted her weight further on her cane, "You don't get to question who I forgive, Kim, you're the one who tripped me daily for the past year without caring about anything that could've happened to me! You were the one who was going to trip me down the stairs without even considering what could've happened to me, what would you've done if I did trip and I cracked my skull open, huh? What would you've done if you tripping me made me break my spine and paralyzed me?" Kim didn't answer, but only looked a bit cowed, "I forgave Alya because she worked for it, she immediately admitted to being wrong the second Jagged's interview went live and she, according to my parents, showed up every few days to ask after me and question if there was anything she could do for me." Marinette breathed a little heavily after her rant, settling back with her weight leaning on her good side.

Nino cleared her throat, averting his eyes away from her face, but still he asked his question, "Speaking of...do you think you could send one of my tapes into Jagged?"

She was shocked into silence, jaw slightly agape as she stared at him. A full minute of silence passed by, of Marinette just staring dumbstruck at him, and then the silence broke. Marinette burst into almost hysterical laughter, head tilted back as she laughed. It was hilarious, pure comedy and she knew that part of the reason she was laughing so hard was to make sure that she didn't burst into tears in front of them. "Are you kidding me?" Her words were high and stumbled out over her laughter.

There was no response, and Nino took one step back away from her, but Marinette responded by stepping towards him. Her cane tapping on the ground as she moved forward.

"No, really," The humor slowly faded out of her voice as she glared at him, "Are you kidding me, Nino? You don't talk to me for two years, don't believe me when I say Lila might be lying for two years even though you know how much I hate liars because we grew up together, you don't even think that maybe, Marinette, your good friend who's been a victim of bullying before, wouldn't bully another girl for two years. And yet the second you find out that I actually do have a connection to Jagged Stone, which you should already know considering I talked to you about designing his sunglasses-" She knew she was intimidating right now, because Nino was leaning away from her even though she was shorter than him.

"I just-"

"-what? You just thought what? That I'd be more than happy to go back to being your best friend who hooks you up with all of my connections, just like you wanted to do with Lila?" Her voice was sarcastic and a little mean, but she just rolled her shoulders back as she turned her back on him, "Pathetic, Lahiffe, but points for effort. Let's get out of her, Kagami," She only said Kagami's name, but she did make eye contact with Alya as well. Without waiting for either of them, but trusting that Kagami at least would follow her.

For moments, the only noise around her was the steady tapping of her cane along with her footsteps. She probably left them all in a great deal of shock, but she couldn't find herself caring in the slightest. They had hurt her, and then expected her to fall right back into their old rhythms without even considering what she might be feeling. They hadn't even apologized when she pointed it out, not even Nino and he had asked her for a favor. After turning a corner, Marinette broke out into a sprint.

It was the sort of thing she knew she was going to regret while doing it, three seconds in and her lungs began to burn and her leg felt like it was being torn apart and her chest felt like it was being crushed like a soda can. She barely made it to a bench before collapsing onto it, wheezing and hunched over as her hand shook even with her grip on the cane. Something cool and wet ran down her cheeks and she idly wondered just when she started to cry.

"Mari!" Alya's voice came from in front of her and soon enough there was someone sitting next to her and a warm hand right up against her spine, "Oh...Mari," Her voice was full of something a little too close to pity for Marinette's taste, but that didn't stop her from wrapping Alya in a tight hug. Pressing her face against the other girls neck as she properly let herself burst into tears. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to burst into tears and Alya was holding her tight enough to make her cry harder. "Oh, I know, I know," She didn't, but she could empathize.

Marinette was glad that she hadn't bothered putting on makeup that morning, mostly because she knew how much Alya loved her flannel and she didn't want to get it messy. She gripped Alya tighter, only to jump as her cane clattered to the ground. "God- fucking-" She let out a loud noise, a mix of a scream and a groan as she moved away from Alya. Tugging her ribbons out of her hair and running her fingers through her hair. Combing through it and letting it hang around her shoulder as she wiped at her eyes, "What made him think that was a good idea!" Her words were still a little hysterical and she snorted to stop herself from sneezing.

"No clue, Mari, no clue, but you better bet I'm going to be getting after him for that," She let out a stilted laugh, no humor in it but she at least tried. Alya shifted on the bench, settled down closer with her hand slowly rubbing circles into her back, "But later, okay?"

"Okay, okay, that sounds good I just- augh!" She slumped forward, elbows on her knees and head in her hands. Marinette let her words just pause there, unable to really put it into words, before she started to cackle. It was high and cracking and definitely didn't sound completely sane, but Marinette figured it was better than crying again. She hiccuped a little, but it didn't really make her stop laughing, "That- felt so good!"

Alya, who had been getting increasingly worried as Marinette cackled, broke into a wide grin as she jostled her, "I bet it did, you were intense over there." A slap on her back (which hurt a little, but it mostly felt good and reassuring, like most things Alya did) as she smiled at her, "I'm glad you got it out, with the fucking Butterfly man out here we really should be getting like, city mandated therapy."

She hummed her agreement, head bouncing a little as she rested it on Alya's shoulder, "Honestly, I've actually checked the stats, therapy as a major has gone way up in desire. Like, it's starting to be one of the most well paid jobs in Paris..." It was a sad statement, the fact that mental health was only being taken seriously when someone was taking advantage of those in worse situations. But, it is what it is, and she (even though she was Ladybug) couldn't change it.

"Wow, maybe I should change my major from journalism to psychiatry," Alya joked, wrapping an arm around Marinette's shoulders so she could rub circles into her bicep, "But hey, let's not think about that right now. Butterfly man can go fuck himself for all I care, if I see one more akuma I'm going to eat it," That got Marinette laughing and she nuzzled her head close to Alya, mindlessly searching for warmth. There was a distant little chime that Marinette couldn't even bother to focus on, and as Alya shifted underneath her she realized it was probably her phone. "That was Kagami, I made sure she knows that you're safe." A pause, another chime, and Alya continued, "She said if you want to go home, no one would hold it against you."

She hummed, contemplating the offer a little before shaking her head, "No..no I shouldn't, I think that'd just worry my parents more. I can make it through the day, it's not like I have any classes with any of them for the rest of the day." Her hand moved to pat Alya's thigh, "Tell Kagami she's sweet, but I'm fine with staying in school for the rest of the day."

"Oh-ho! I'm telling Kagami's she's sweet, am I?" Alya's voice is teasing and light as she speed texted the reply to Kagami, "I had to stress that it was you calling her sweet, wouldn't want me stealing your girl, Mari."

It was a weird sort of reassuring for Alya to tease and rib her like this about Kagami, and she liked it. Even if her cheeks burned, it was worth it as she shoved at her, "Shut up, will you?"

"No no, I just started being your friend again, I have to know how this happened," Alya slipped her phone into her pocket and turned on the bench, one leg tucked up so she could properly face Marinette, "Give me all the dirty details, I want to know how you melted the Ice Queen."

Marinette flushed a little, scratching behind her neck, "Actually, it's all kinda thanks to Lila in a weird way? So, I'm not sure how much of Lila's actual bullying of me you know about, but uh- she's threatened me in the bathroom before. And on one of those days, I actually broke down crying and as Lila was leaving, Kagami came in. And things just sort of...spiraled from there. We got really close together and once I transferred to Mendeleiev's, we just got closer because we sat together."

Alya leaned in, grinning like a devil who knew exactly what was coming, "So, I'm guessing that cursed necklace of yours had something to do with the two of you getting together?" She teased out as she absentmindedly moved to pick up Marinette's cane and hand it to her.

Turning it in her hands, Marinette nodded her head and gave a short laugh, "Yeah, actually, I was beat up pretty bad afterwards, and Kuro Kishi actually took me to Kagami's because apparently she knows her somehow. And Kagami cared for me, really well, until I could get to my house without collapsing on the way there. I actually was the one who asked her out," Marinette ran her fingers through her hair again, twisting one of the locks around her finger, "I was kinda surprised, I knew that there was something coming between us, but I always figured that Kagami would be the one to do it."

"Yeah, I mean that girl never hesitates," She had a small smile on her face, and she reached out to tuck some of Marinette's hair behind her ear, "I'm glad you two are happy together, Mari, even if the situation surrounding that wasn't...ideal," She twirled her hand a little, glancing away.

"Actually, turns out the reason she was hesitating with me was that she didn't want to rush me or put any more expectations on my plate," A little laugh and she toyed with her hair further, wondering what else she could say without revealing their identities, "We've been together a week and I haven't even been able to take her on a date!" Her eyes widened and she gasped, fumbling a little as she reached for her phone to open up a webpage.

Sakura festival meals were available now at Sakura Delights. She let out a little squeal, tapping her fingers excitably on the back of the bench, "And I know just how to change that!" Already she was imagining it, just how they promised all those months ago. They would have the sakura mochi together and they could finally call it a date, because that's what they always were. She was so excited, she barely realized she was moving until her cane jabbed into her foot, "Ah- god!"

Alya cackled, but still she moved to Marinette's sides, "Slow down there, girl, Kagami'll be there if you take a couple more seconds to get there," A little pat on her hand as they started to make their way up the stairs. It was just as rough as the first time she climbed them, but she felt lighter. Maybe it was because of yelling at her old classmates, maybe it was because she could finally take Kagami out on a date. Either way, she felt better as she parted ways with Alya so they could go to their respective classrooms.

Sure, not being able to gossip with her during glass would be missed, but it was worth it because of not having to deal with Bustier. Or Lila's probable glares and attempts to bully her again. She shifted into her seat, the cane propped up on her desk as she drummed her fingers on the table. Lunch break was ending soon, and she didn't have to wait long before Kagami entered the room, "Kishi!" She called out, knowing full well that she was grinning like a fool and Kagami probably could figure out that something was going on.

"Uh...yeah?" Her words were stuttered as she moved to slip in besides her, "What's up?" Her eyes narrowed slightly, head tilting, "Are you okay? I know Alya said that you wanted to stay for the rest of the school day, but if you need it, I can get Tatso over here so you don't have to walk the way to the bakery," Kagami's hand moved to rest on Marinette's, warming her heart but she still shook her head.

"No! I mean, no, it's nothing like that Kagami, I just." She chewed on her bottom lip, reaching out to hold one of Kagami's hands in both of hers, "Do you want to come with me to Sakura Delights this weekend? They have the Sakura Festival desserts on their menu, and like- so long ago we were talking about going there during the Sakura Festival to get the mochi there and I- I was wondering if you wanted it to be our first date!" Her voice ended in a squeak as she scrunched her shoulders up around her ears, eyes squeezed shut like she was expecting rejection. She wasn't, the only real rejection she was expecting was if Kagami was busy this weekend.

A calloused hand rested on her cheek and thumbed across it until she peeked one eye open. Kagami had leaned in a little, smiling widely as she nodded her head, "That sounds like the best first date that we could ever have, Mari-hime. I'd love to be able to take you out, does Saturday at six work out?"

She could barely nod her head, smiling widely as she swallowed hard, "Yes! Yes that sounds fantastic! I'll, put it on my calendar!"

"And I guess I'll have to remind you three hours before six, and then two hours before six, and then an hour before six and then-" Kagami cut herself off with a little laugh, giving Marinette's hand a little squeeze- "I can't wait, Mari-hime."

"I can't wait either, Kishi," Marinette smiled, already planning out her perfect outfit to compliment what she figured that Kagami would wear. Something light and breezy, but obviously inspired by her own culture. Maybe a qipao, but that was a distant plan, she'd have to get the proper fabric for it and she only had a few days for this. But it would be memorable, of course it would be.


	21. Chapter 21

It was Saturday, and Marinette felt like she was about to explode. Everything she had done over the week was charging up to this day, including the suit that Kagami had 'just happened' to remember that it needed tailoring. Kagami wasn't exactly subtle, but at least Marinette knew how best to match her dress to her suit. She had decided on a qipao, she had to buy it outright, but had edited it when it arrived. Carefully embroidering flowers up from the bottom and then from the left shoulder. Making it look like the blossoms were falling down and scattering across the skirt, it was probably one of her more adventurous ideas. Something that took so long (so many mistakes on her practice cloth and so many injuries on her fingertips), but as Marinette twirled in front of her mirror she was so proud of it.

Kagami was arriving in an hour, and Marinette was almost bouncing in her seat as she paced her room. Her hands were shaking, which was weird because there wasn't anything really special happening. It was just a date (the first date, a mean little voice in her head whispered), and it wasn't like they had never gone out for a meal before. She reached up, hands running through her hair and taking them out of their pigtails. Already, Marinette had done this six times, trying to find a new style for her hair that would make her skin stop crawling and feeling like it was electric. 

When Kagami arrived, Marinette had decided on a high bun. The ribbon in her hair matched the accents on her suit and the flowers on her dress, they really were a perfect set and it was making everything lit up in Marinette's brain. Kagami grinned, adjusting the lapels of her suit jacket as she offered an arm for Marinette to take, "You look gorgeous, Mari-hime,"

She let out a little laugh, taking Kagami's arm and pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek as they walked out of the bakery. Her parents knew that Kagami was picking her up for a dinner, but Marinette had never officially told them that they were together. Maybe it was better left until after the date, especially since they had a reservation to make, "You look...handsome, Kishi," It had been something that they had discussed during the week. Kagami was more comfortable with masculine endearments and sayings, even though she was fully a lesbian. 

Marinette knew she had to keep using the word handsome for her, because Kagami's face lit up as she escorted her to the car, "Thank you, I definitely couldn't have pulled this look off if it wasn't so expertly tailored to me." She teased slightly, leaning in to return the cheek kiss. Their car ride was silent, but it was enjoyable as Marinette smoothed the fabric of her qipao over and over again as they drove to the restaurant.

"This is, a lot right now," Marinette drew her cane onto her lap and turned it over and over, "This is a little fun, isn't it? I know we've done this whole thing before, this whole restaurant thing but-"

"-But it feels a lot different now that we're dating, doesn't it?" Kagami smiled, reaching over to place a hand on Marinette's cane, "But it's a good different, right?" Her eyes darted across Marinette's face, trying to see if she was misreading a cue or something.

"It does! Good different, even though everything else leading up to it sorta...sucks, but at least we're here." Tatso slowly rolled to a stop and Kagami moved to help Marinette out of the car, "I hope that this is a chivalry thing and not you worrying over me. I use a cane, I'm not made of glass."

"I assure you, this is just chivalry. You are formidable on your own, especially with that cane of yours, this is just because I think you deserve to be treated like a princess." She gently squeezed Marinette's hand as they made their way into the restaurant. They were right on time, Kagami was always punctual like that and soon enough they were seated at their old spot. Right near the window, looking out onto the street with a lovely view of the cherry blossom tree right outside the window.

Marinette's shoulders slumped slightly as she noticed the blossom's already on the ground, "I missed the first day..." She had done a little research, knowing that it was important to Kagami made her want to know everything about it, and the first day was always so special. With the age of the blossoms on the ground, it had been at least two weeks since they fell. Meaning that she had absolutely been quarantined at home and barely able to move during the first fall.

"Maybe so, but you're going to be here for the rest of them," Kagami reached across the table, holding her hand and gently rubbing her thumb across the back of it. Marinette noticed that her nails had gotten thicker and sharper, most likely due to the ring sitting heavy on her finger. It was different in it's camoflaged form, different from the heavy ring that Adrien worn, instead it was a signet ring. There was the Tsurugi crest engraved upon it, and maybe Marinette was looking too deep into it, but she felt it symbolized just how better suited Kagami was for the ring.

Her heart did warm, at the idea of spending all the rest of the Sakura festivals with Kagami. At the idea of being able to spend the first day with Kagami. It was romantic, pure and simple, and Marinette smiled wider across the table at her, "That's true, and I hope that you're going to be here with me during all of them."

When Kagami smiled, her teeth were just a little sharper, but she nodded her head, "Of course, what is a princess without her knight, Mari-hime?" 

She laughed, a little too loud for a public space but there was enough talk around her to cover it up, "You're right, Kishi, I always need my knight." A soft smile shared between them, reaching out to hold her hand with both of hers. It was her first date, she wanted to do everything right on it. Kagami gently squeezed her hand, smiling slightly.

"Do you want to split a dish, or do you want to just have our own dishes and split the mochi?" Her head was slightly tilted and Marinette had the clearest thought of leaning across the table to kiss her. But that would probably be a little too rude, and a little too publicly affectionate for Kagami's taste. There would be time for first kisses (first kisses that mattered, Marinette wasn't counting either of the ones that she had with Adrien during the akumas) later, the night was still young after all. 

"I think I really want to have that onion soup again, it was so great the last time that I had it and I'm...way too hungry to share!" A little laugh as she scratched behind her ear. The entire day leading up to their date, Marinette couldn't even look at food without feeling sick. So she was more than hungry and she didn't want their first date to get ruined because she was so hungry and she ate the entire meal that they were supposed to be sharing. 

"Alright, then I suppose I'll order that faux beef dish I did the first time we came," Kagami smiled across at her, withdrawing her hand just to close the menu and stack it on top of where Marinette's lay unopened. "The sakura mochi looks fantastic here, doesn't it?"

"I'll have to eat it to believe it, maybe I could find a good recipe and we can make them next year?" It was already a little too late for their next day to be cherry blossom themed, but that just meant that Marinette had enough time to perfect her own version of the dish. It wasn't something that she could ask her parents about, mochi wasn't a dish from either of her parents cultures so that meant she would have to try her best at a recipe online.

"That sounds lovely, maybe I can ask my mother if she has any recipes. It's unlikely that she does, but it's always best to try," Kagami smiled at her, "I'm sure that someone in our family must have a recipe somewhere, and I think it would be lovely to make it with you."

Marinette felt her cheeks warm, but she nodded her head, "Oh- absolutely! And, if you want or maybe if your mom doesn't have a recipe, I can teach you something from my grandfather? He has this really good soup, and don't worry it's vegetarian, and we could try our hand at cooking that together!"

"Again, that sounds rather nice. So we seem to have the next few dates planned out, but since you chose this one. I want to take you somewhere next time, and don't ask questions because it's a surprise. Does next Saturday work out?" There was something secretive in Kagami's grin, and Marinette wondered if Plagg was having a good or a bad affect on her girlfriend.

Still, she couldn't exactly turn down such an exciting offer, "I think it does, but Nadja might ask me to babysit Manon. And I really need that money, so unless you want to deal with a rambunctious ten year old, I really would suggest delaying it maybe a day? Or a week because having a date night be on a school night would really cramp what we could do." Marinette talked with her hands, which often was a good thing! It was something for her to use to express herself!

It was less good when she almost smacked their server in the face with the back of her hand. Deftly, the server avoided getting slapped, and smiled at the two of them, "I hope you two are enjoying your night out. Have you decided what you want to eat, or should I just take your drink orders and let you decide?" 

"Oh, I believe we're ready to order," Kagami glanced at Marinette, brief enough for her to nod her head.

"Alright then, what will you be having tonight, sir?" The honorific got Kagami smiling wider and Marinette hoped that the server didn't question just how sharp her canines were.

"I'm going to be ordering the beef bourguignon, and my lovely date here is having the onion soup," Kagami's lips stayed in that smile that Marinette was a little distracted by, even as she handed the menus to their server. There was a little bit of silence as the server left, but soon Kagami turned her attention back to Marinette, "That was okay right?"

"Of course, I figured that you'd want to really uh- what were you saying when you explained to me? Play the role?" She tilted her head, rolling her wrist a little to try to make her point. "If it makes you happy to be chilvarious with me, saying our orders together and announcing me as your date, then go ahead. You know better than to treat me like glass, and sometimes I like being taken care of." Marinette smiled, even as she raised her arm to flex her muscles.

Shaking her head, Kagami chuckled enough to make her shoulders bounce up and down, "I know that you're not made of glass, actually I think you could very easily lift me up and carry me around." She spun her ring on her finger, eyes darting back and forth as she took in the sights and sounds of the restaraunt. Marinette knew that Kagami was slowly getting the sort of heightened senses that she herself had, and it was a hit or miss with the busy dining room. She could have the time of her life with all the scents and noises surrounding her, or maybe she'd get so overwhelmed that they'd had to leave.

But either way, Marinette was down for it. Whether dessert was sakura mochi or if it was Andre's ice cream (they still hadn't found time to find out what their flavor combination was), she was more than happy to go along with what Kagami needed. "If you want me to, I'd be happy to test that theory!" She knew her eyes sometimes gleamed black when she got excited, something black and fathomless and she knew that Kagami sometimes got scared by it (too many memories of Tiye and too many memories of the fight on the roof).

"Maybe you can just carry me to your house, even though arguably I should be able to walk you up to the front steps. I think you parents would get a kick out of you showing up with me in your arms," Kagami smiled at her, raising Marinette's hand to her lips to press a kiss to the back of it. "Of course, that would mean that the next time we go out, I'd be carrying you back to your house. It's only fair after all."

Marinette wanted to give a witty response, but the kiss to the back of her hand made every single solitary thought leave her mind, "I- uh yeah!" She laughed a little, knowing that her cheeks were bright red, "Sounds good!"

The dinner was nice, but a little boring. Just lots of chatter about school and projects and what was coming. Some coded words about what they were going to do with Papillion, about what sort of miraculous they should give out for the actual battle. It was coming up, a big dark cloud over the horizon that they were trying to ignore on their first date, but that couldn't happen entirely. It would be unfair and foolish and they couldn't do that to themselves. So they discussed which of their friends could fit a miraculous, which of their friends deserved a miraculous.

But they didn't make any decisions, not tonight. Tonight wasn't about Papillion or miraculouses or powers or friends, it was just about them. Marinette's soup was perfectly cooked and Kagami seemed pleased with her vegetarian beef, and their conversation turned away from coded messages. They talked about school, the weather, Kagami's fencing tournaments (Adrien had been slacking off and Kagami's eyes shone with pride as she talked about defeating him three times in a row). 

"And, for the lovely couple, we have our Sakura mochi," Their server was bright and bubbly as she had always been (Marinette had seen the subtle flag pin on the collar of her shirt and she knew) as she set down the dish.

"Thank you," Marinette smiled, nodding her head a little as they walked away, before she smiled at Kagami, "Oh, wow, how do we even go about this?" She stared down at the mochi, chewing on her bottom lip as she stared at the pickled leaf wrapping around it. There were two of them, which worked out wonderfully for their date. Each had their own leaf and they were a pale pink color. Marinette picked up the one closest to her, feeling the slight squish underneath her fingers of the rice paste, "Should I eat the leaf or?"

Kagami chuckled a little, shaking her head slightly as she lifted her own, "You can, it's all up to personal preference. Last time I participated in hanami, I was in Japan for a fencing tournament and the restaraunt that we visited after I won had sakura mochi. I tried it without the leaf, but I prefer it with it." She took a bite out of it, leaf and all, then turned it around so Marinette could see that the inside was a darker pink.

She blinked, but moved to take a bite of her own. It tasted a little strange, but not unpleasant. The pickled leaf went well with the slight sweetness of the mochi. The color was also beautiful, already Marinette's mind was spinning with ideas on how to use that color in fabric. Sure, finding an exact match for the color might be hard, but if it came down to it she could try her hand at hand dyeing fabric. Her foot bounced on the ground and Kagami reached over to tap her hand.

"Mari-hime, your ribbons are floating." Kagami's eyes darted up to the bright red ribbons currently dancing above her bun, and Marinette flushed. 

She wasn't ashamed of the eccentricities that she had gained through being Ladybug, but she absolutely didn't want to be seen with magical ribbons and have anyone start questioning why some random student had magical ribbons. Her hand moved up to lace the ribbons up underneath the bun, not letting them wave freely, "I was thinking about making a dress with a color inspired by the mochi, and I got a little too excited about it," Marinette said it, like she had to explain anything to her girlfriend.

"Well, if there's a pairing to it, maybe you could make a suit based off of the leaf," There was a tease in her voice, but Marinette's brain flew with the idea. A matching set, of course the models in her imagination were the two of them, but the ideas still started forming. Not a qipao, something more flowing would suit cherry blossoms better. Maybe dark brown accents, like a lacing in the back or maybe in the front, some dark green to give a rest from the eyes and if there's another layer, it can be that darker pink.

Her leg started to bounce on the ground, all the ideas running through her as she absentmindedly ate the rest of her mochi. The only way that she realized time had passed was went she bit down on her own fingers, the mochi long gone and Kagami already passing off the bill, "Oh- wait hey! I was going to pay!"

Kagami's dark brown eyes glimmered as she chuckled, "Well, you were in your designer zone, and I couldn't bear to break you out of it, so I may have taken the chance to pay while you were distracted." Her grin was wide and teasing as she shifted in her seat, "Do you want to sit and chat or-"

"This has been one of the best nights of my life, Kagami, but if I don't get these ideas on paper I will explode," Marinette laughed a little as she moved to stand.

"Well now, I can't be having an exploded girlfriend, now can I?" She laughed a little as she slipped back into her suit jacket, "Shall I call Tatso, or?" Kagami paused her sentence, head just slightly tilted.

"Walking sounds-" Fine, she was going to say it sounded fine, but then there were the telltale sirens of an akuma attack- "Seems like our date would've been cut sort anyway," They shared a slightly secret grin as they rushed out with the panic, darting into an alleyway, "Ready?"

"Try not to explode during the battle, Mari-hime, I don't think your miraculous cure would fix that," Kagami laughed, high and loud and bold and Marinette loved her so much, before calling out, "Plagg, claws out!"

"Tikki, spots on!"

The two superheroes flew and climbed out of the alleyway, ready to fight on whatever Hawkmoth threw their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I projecting my relationship with gender and being butch and being a lesbian onto Kagami? Yes
> 
> Anyway, 1 fic in the bag an a 2 chaptered future(ish) fic in the works.
> 
> And then I'll definitely be having another story that's currently flip flopping between Alyanette and Marigami, so vote please!


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